End of The World
by howlerdrode
Summary: First storyA crossover between xmen evolution and Legion of Super Heroes in a battle to save the universe and time itself! Some ROMY later in story and an interestin decision to come, and much more!
1. History Revisited

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THE END OF THE WORLD

By HOWLERDRODE & HEARTSYHAWK

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PROLOGUE

This is an unusual tale. For my first fanfiction story, I have chosen to do a crossover between the Legion of Super-Heroes of the 30th century (a DC Comics property that is no longer in publication but may be coming back soon :)) ) and the X-men of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries (a Marvel Comics property.) I have also chosen to select a co-writer to help me get the story together. My name is HOWLERDRODE. My partner is HEARTSYHAWK. We do not have any claim neither to Marvel Comics or DC Comics nor to any of their characters. We do have a few original characters of our own and the concept of the storyline is mine. The time of the Legion is pre Zero Hour while the X-men is set in the era of X-MEN Evolution. We hope that you enjoy the story.

**_CHAPTER ONE_**

History Revisited

The Time Trapper sat in his hideaway at the end of time, reviewing various battles throughout history. He was looking for a means of defeating his enemies, mainly the Legion of Super Heroes. They had constantly thwarted his plans to rule the Universe. At his side was a former "Darkstar", Argus Vidar, also known as Universo. All of a sudden, the Time Trapper's eyes lit up as he watched a monumental battle unfold. This battle took place in the early part of the twenty-first century between the X-Men and the super mutant Apocalypse. What captured his interest was the way Apocalypse was able to absorb the powers of other mutants. He wondered if Apocalypse could absorb the powers of the Legionnaires as well. In the event that he was able to do this, the Time Trapper would be able to accomplish his goal of defeating them and ruling the universe. "This super mutant bears investigating further," the Time Trapper thought to himself.

While he continued to observe the epic battle, the Time Trapper began to reminisce about his last encounter with the Legion. It was in 2987. He had teamed up with Mordru in an attempt to destroy the Legion. It was quite a war that had been fought. Unfortunately, the battle had been lost. Mordru had been tricked by Princess Projectra and entombed under a mountain of granite by Mon-El, Super Boy, Super Girl, and Ultra Boy.

Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, Invisible Kid, and the rest of the cursed legionnaires had chased him to the end of time, defeated once again. He had barely escaped along with Universo. While the battle was only a few weeks ago in the Time Trapper's memory, it had actually been fought many centuries earlier in the thirtieth century. The Time Trapper looked around thoughtfully. It seemed to him that every time he teamed up with someone the legion was remotely familiar with, his team would be defeated. He was tired of being exiled back to the end of time. He hoped that using Apocalypse, a power-absorbing mutant, that this time might be different and he would prevail. As he looked at history of Apocalypse, he was extremely impressed by the fact that he was able to subdue the entire earth. Although, it had been in the 25th century, long before the Legion ever existed.

Meanwhile, in the early 21st century, The X-Men were having problems of their own. It seems that shortly after their epic battle with the aforementioned Apocalypse, that the adults had left the country to go on vacation and the younger members of the X-Men had managed to get themselves into trouble. Half of the teens had been de-aged by fifteen years. They were now between the ages of one and four. The remaining teen members had their hands full trying to take care of the kids and also trying to figure out a way to get them back to normal before the adults returned. Additionally, some of the de-aged were starting to manifest their extraordinary abilities (author's note: See **BACK IN DIAPERS).**

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In the thirtieth century, the Legion of Super-Heroes had gathered to meet and test several new applicants. Mon-El called the roll: Light Lass---Present, Colossal Boy---Present, Element Lad---Present, Super Girl---present, Brainiac 5---present, Ultra Boy---present, Shadow Lass---Present, Princess Projectra---present, Super Boy---present, Phantom Girl---present, Invisible Kid---present, Wild Fire---present, Chameleon Kid---present, Blok---present, Matter-Eater Lad---present, Cosmic Boy---present, Ferro Lad---present, Sun Boy---present, Karate Kid---present, White witch---present, Timber Wolf---present, and Mon-El---present. Also in attendance were Former Legionnaires: Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, Duo Damsel, Bouncing Boy, Star Boy and Dream Girl, as well as honorary Legionnaires, Pete Ross and Rond Vidar and Legion reservist Insect Queen.

"Since all active members of the Legion are present, I, Mon-El propose that the Legion Constitution be amended to allow members of the Legion who marry to continue to serve in the Legion rather than be forced to resign from service. As you all know, we have just finished a major battle with Mordru, The time Trapper, and Universo. Without the help of six former Legionnaires, Star Boy and Dream Girl, Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad, and Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel, it is highly unlikely that we would have been able to prevail. I believe that it is time to offer them their rightful places back in the active Legion membership."

"Amending our constitution is a serious step, Mon-El. One that is not easily undertaken or to be treated lightly," said Brainiac 5.

"I know that, Brainy." Mon-El replied. "However, I believe that, in this case it is the right thing to do."

At this point, Saturn Girl spoke up. "The reason that provision was put in the constitution in the first place, Mon-El is because of the very real fear that a married Legionnaire would have a conflict of interest when it came to protecting his or her family and going on a mission for the legion."

"Since you are a founding member, Saturn Girl, you are the perfect one to explain that. However, it is my opinion that Legionnaires should be able to deal with that conflict. We all make those decisions when we take the oath and join the Legion and when we go on a mission knowing we may not come back. At the very least, it should be a choice that the Legionnaire should be able to make. At the present time, there is no decision to make, as there is no flexibility in the rule," Mon-El said. I also realize that if this rule is changed, some may choose not to exercise this right to remain in the Legion, but at least the opportunity will be there for them to do so.

The silence that followed Mon-El's impassioned speech was deafening. After a few moments, Invisible Kid spoke. "I move that the Constitution be amended to allow married Legionnaires to remain active in the Legion if they choose to do so."

Super Girl promptly seconded Lyle Norg's motion.

Mon-El grinned. "A motion has been made and seconded to amend our Legion Constitution. Is there any further discussion on this amendment?"

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Lance looked at Forge. "Are you telling me that all of your data used to make this thing is missing? How is that possible, Forge?"

"Apparently, someone managed to get into my lab and took my disks and my hard drive. Who ever it was replaced my hard drive with one that had corrupt data on it," Forge replied. "As to how it is possible and who did it, I have my opinions but until I am sure, I can't accuse anyone."

"Don't you have any security here? I expected better of you, Forge." Lance was getting angry. "My girlfriend has been changed into a toddler, along with my teammates and close friends, and you are making excuses."

"As a matter of fact, I do have some security cameras set up. However, the tapes will do you no good, as they do not show anything. Whoever did this probably was able to render him or herself invisible. They also had the ability to pass through solid objects. My lab is not the Danger Room but still it does have some security precautions to prevent unauthorized entry," Forge replied. "Now just calm down and leave me alone so that I can try to solve this thing."

As Lance turned to leave, he told Forge "you had better get this thing fixed quickly. I am getting very angry and you won't like me when I am angry." The walls shook a little bit as he closed the door.

Forge breathed a sigh of relief as Lance left. "If the short tempered rock tumbler ever finds out what really happened, he will freak and I'll be in bigger trouble." Forge began frantically searching his room. "Where the heck did I put the backup hard drive? It has all of my blueprints and calculations," he thought to himself. Unbeknownst to Forge, his hypothesis to Lance was closer to the truth than he imagined. At that very moment, someone was in his room and he was holding Forge's hard drive in his hands. While he was not exactly invisible, he was microscopic in size and could not be seen by the naked eye. The person was alien to earth, as he was truly from a world very far away. He was also from another era entirely. While his real name was Lalo Muldroon, his code name was Micro Lad and he was from the planet Imsk, located about 10 million light years from earth. He belonged in the thirtieth century where he was imprisoned for crimes while a member of the Legion of Super Villains. He had managed to escape and had stolen a time bubble and moved back to the 21st century and came to earth undetected. He had landed in Forge's back yard. The Time Bubble had a feature of being able to be cloaked, rendering it and its contents invisible. It was a simple matter for him to shrink himself to microscopic size and get into Forge's lab. Upon resuming normal size, he had found Forge's hard drive. He was examining the primitive device, thinking it might be a weapon of some kind, when he had heard Forge approaching the lab. He had shrunk himself to microscopic size just before Forge entered the room with Lance. As he watched Forge frantically searching the room and throwing stuff around in his haste to find the missing hard drive, Lalo was nearly hit by a flying drawer. In order to protect himself, he would have to resume his normal size and expose himself to Forge.

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Hello out there! Tis HOWLERDRODE and HEARTSYHAWK! So how is it? This is a first for both of us. This is the first story put up by HOWLERDRODE at all and the first co-written story by HEARTSYHAWK. As such we would appreciate a review. You can tell us if you like it, hate it, mildly tolerate it's existence, whatever but please review! Hey since we are in a generous mood you can even sick the hundreds of Mxyzptlk clones on us if you so desired. Who is Mxyzptlk? Well, if you don't know go do a bit of research into the Legion of Super Heroes (Superman's story should help too). TTYL. Bye.


	2. Surprising Developments

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END OF THE WORLD

BY HOWLERDRODE AND HEARTSYHAWK

**_Last time on X-Men Evolution_**: The Time trapper watched the epic battle unfold between the super-mutant, Apocalypse and The X-men, deciding to use Apocalypse against the Legion of Super-Heroes in an attempt to take over the universe...Micro Lad visits the 21st century and enters a mutant's lab...A constitutional amendment is proposed for the Legion of Super-Heroes

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CHAPTER TWO

Surprising Developments

The Time Trapper grinned maliciously as he contemplated bringing the super mutant, Apocalypse to the thirtieth century to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting Legionnaires. As he was deep in thought, he did not notice Universo come into the room with his tea. "Have you thought of a way for us to get back at those accursed do-gooders in the thirtieth century, master?"

"Oh, hello Universo. I was deep in thought and did not hear you come in," replied the Time Trapper, taking his tea from the outstretched hand of his apprentice. "I think I may have found a way to do just that. Take a look at this time disk."

Universo watched the epic battle unfold between The X-Men and Apocalypse. He too was impressed by the super mutant's power absorbing abilities and saw the possibilities. "This mutant, Apocalypse, looks like he may be a good choice, but he was defeated by that wicked girl, Rogue, master. His weakness appears to be similar to Mordru's in that if he is entombed, his powers don't work. We know what happened with Mordru when we tried to use his powers to destroy the Legion and my son. How can we be sure that the Legion won't try to do this to Apocalypse?"

"Good point, Universo. I missed that part when I got so excited about the super mutant. The one advantage we will have, however, is that those do-gooders will not be familiar with Apocalypse and won't know about his weakness. He was from a time long before them and he was from a different dimension. It is not likely that they will be able to defeat him," The Time Trapper said confidently. "The Legion knows about Mordru's weakness because they have faced him so many times."

Universo was not so sure about this. He, too, had faced the Legion of Super Heroes many times and fully appreciated their resourcefulness in finding ways to defeat their foes. He also knew that his son, like himself, was a Darkstar and had access to history tapes from many dimensions. As he watched The Time Trapper begin his preparations to bring Apocalypse to them, he began to get an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He realized that his partnership with The Time Trapper might be coming to an end. If they were defeated, he resolved to be the last one standing at the finish. He knew that this was going to be "The Battle of All Battles" and he wanted to survive.

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In the twenty-first century, Forge was letting his temper get the best of him as he looked for the backup hard drive. He was throwing stuff around the lab, as he grew more frantic. Could the person who had switched his hard drive on him also have taken his backup? The brilliant cyborg mutant was getting very frustrated by his thoughts and not finding his drive. All of a sudden, he felt the presence of someone else in his room. As he turned around, Forge witnessed something he had never seen before. Micro Lad started growing from his floor. The Imskian resumed his normal size and appeared before Forge. In his hand, was Forge's backup hard drive. Forge was shocked by the appearance of this stranger. Micro Lad waited until Forge calmed down and held out his hand.

"Is this what you are searching for so frantically," he asked. Forge was beside himself.

"Who the heck are you and how did you get in here? Did that Assassin, Psylocke, send you," Forge asked as he transformed his hand into a very menacing laser gun?

Micro Lad looked at the Laser gun and debated within himself whether he should try to shrink himself. Deciding that there was not enough time, he tried to run a bluff. He also realized that his stolen force field belt was still in the time bubble and that if Forge actually fired his laser at him, he would likely be incinerated.

"First, put that thing way. I will not hurt you but I am invulnerable and if you fire it at me, the beam will bounce back at you and destroy everything in this lab. Is that what you really want?" Micro Lad was lying but Forge believed him.

His bluff worked. Forge calmed down and transformed his hand back to normal. Micro Lad then held out his hand. "What is this thing, some sort of a weapon?"

Forge looked at the outstretched hand. "No, " he replied. "It is not a weapon. This is a computer hard drive that is very important to me. It contains data and calculations for a project I am working on. I was looking for it because my original drive was stolen by some one and replaced with a corrupt one, which caused my project to malfunction."

"Resulting in harm to your friend, what did you call him, the short tempered rock tumbler," Lalo finished.

"No, I did not harm Avalanche," Forge replied. "The result was that his girlfriend and a few others were de aged by fifteen years. Teenagers became babies and toddlers, literally. Their guardians are gone on vacation and I have to get them back to normal before they get back. That is why that drive is so important."

"Very interesting. My name is Lalo Muldroon, by the way. My friends call me Micro Lad. What was this project supposed to do anywhoo?"

Forge looked at Micro Lad. "My name is Forge. Are you some kind of mutant or what," he asked?

"Actually, I am an alien to your world. I am from a galaxy far, far away from your earth." Lalo deliberately left out the part about him being from a future time era as well. "I am a freedom fighter from the planet Imsk. We are trying to gain our independence from the United Planets. While I could be considered a mutant here on Earth, the fact is that I am normal on Imsk. All of us have the ability to make ourselves super tiny in size. I escaped to Earth from one of the United Planets' prison worlds where I had been taken after being captured in battle."

Forge was impressed. He was in the presence of a real alien who was also a freedom fighter. He pictured Imsk as fighting to be free of an evil dictator like Saddam Hussein or The Emperor Palpatine or a tyrannical king, much like America fought the British King George for their own independence. He found himself liking Lalo Muldroon. "Cool," he replied. My friend, Bobby would love to meet you. He is always talking about aliens and saying how he wants to meet one." All of a sudden, Forge looked quite sad. He had just remembered that Bobby was one of the de-aged mini mutants and would not understand about Lalo.

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At Legion headquarters, in the thirtieth century, the Legionnaires were about to vote on the amendment to their constitution that Mon-el had proposed. Saturn Girl, Duo Damsel, Star Boy, Bouncing Boy, Dream Girl and Lightning Lad all left the room so that the vote could take place. As former Legionnaires, they were all directly affected by this vote but could not participate in it. They all went into a specially shielded room so that none of them, especially Saturn Girl, could influence the vote in any way. Each of them began to contemplate whether they would like to be active Legionnaires again. It was especially difficult for Bouncing boy and Duo Damsel. Unbeknownst to the Legionnaires, these two former members had a secret. Bouncing Boy had just found out after the battle with Mordru, that his wife was pregnant. This information caused both of them to think about the choice, which was likely to be offered to them. (Author's note: The Legion did actually amend their constitution to allow married Legionnaires to remain in the Legion on active status, but none of the other details really happened to my knowledge. I don't believe it was Mon-El who suggested it, either.) As they wrestled with their dilemma, the other Legionnaires and reservist, Insect Queen, began to vote. Mon-El had proved very persuasive and the vote was unanimous in favor of the amendment's passage.

Light Lass could hardly contain the broad smile on her face as she brought the former Legionnaires from the shielded room to face their comrades once again. She was doubly excited because her brother and best friend would be eligible for reinstatement to active status. As they came before the assembly of heroes, the former Legionnaires were beaming with pride. Light Lass had explained the decision to them before they entered the room.

Mon-El spoke first. "The amendment was passed unanimously and our Constitution has been modified to allow each of you to become active members once again. Each of you has a decision to make. All of you are offered membership once again. I urge you to decide as couples although it would be possible for one of you to join and the other not if that is what you decide to do. Do you need a few moments to discuss your options?"

Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad spoke up. "We have already made our decision, Mon-El. We will accept our positions back." Star Boy and Dream Girl stated that they would like to accept their positions back as well but they had some business to take care of first on their home world.

Finally, Duo Damsel and Bouncing Boy spoke up. "While we appreciate the honor of being invited back into the Legion, We must respectfully decline at this time. We would really like to accept but we have news for you that will preclude us from accepting this position. We cannot accept because we are going to have a child. Because we will have our hands full being full time parents we must respectfully refuse active membership in the Legion of Super Heroes."

Every jaw dropped. No one expected this announcement. After a few moments, Super Boy spoke up. "Congratulations to you both. We will be honored to have you as Legion Reservists. You will remain part of the Legion Family and could be called upon only in case of extremely dire times, like the end of the world."

All of the legionnaires crowded around the young couple to wish them luck with their new family. Finally, Mon-El raised himself above the crowd and announced that the oath of Legion membership needed to be administered to Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad. Star Boy and Dream Girl were excused to take care of their personal matters at the same time.

As the legionnaires took their places, Mon-el instructed Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad to raise their right hands and repeat the oath. With broad smiles, both Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl began the familiar refrain: "I pledge always to use my super-power only for the good of all people, and never for selfish purposes or expecting financial reward, and to do my best to aid fellow Legionnaires who are in peril"

"Congratulations, you are now Legionnaires once again," Mon-El said. "Brainiac 5, Will you do the honors of presenting our newest members with their flight rings?"

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So how was it? Tell us what you think. Good, bad, completely repulsively boring? Should Mxyzptlk clones impale us with pointy spears? We don't know unless you tell us. And its not really too hard. You know the little purple-blue button is down there. We know it is down there. Use it and make the nice people who do the site work for fanfiction happy by making use of their nice creation.


	3. New ApplicantsNew Recruits

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Guess who's back??!! Yeah its us. We are saddened by the fact that we only had one review! Come on people this is just not fair. We review your stuff! But anyway here is chapter three. Oh yeah...disclaimer...joy.

Disclaimer: We wish pal. We really do. But Howlerdrode and Heartsyhawk do not in any twisted alternate dimension, own anything that Marvel, DC, Scholastic, or international cheese namers of the world put their name on first (No there is not a real international cheese namers of the world but somebody had to name cheeses right?)

CHAPTER THREE

(New Applicants/New Recruits)

Brainiac 5 could not help but give an ear to ear grin as he presented his two friends their flight rings. "Welcome back," he said.

"You may take your places, Legionnaires," Mon-El said. "Is there any new business to consider deputy leader?"

Super Girl stepped forward. "Yes, there are several new applicants for membership to consider sir."

Pete Ross stepped forward. "May I have permission to speak sir?"

Mon-El looked at the honorary legionnaire. "Of course, Pete. What is on your mind?"

"Before we consider our guests outside, Lana and I have an announcement and a request. First, the announcement. Lana and I are now a married couple. Second, We would both like to apply for legion membership."

A hush fell over the room. To the Legionnaires' knowledge, Pete had no real super powers of his own and Lana got her powers from her Bio-ring, an external device which had disqualified her previously from being admitted.

"Hold on a Minute, Pete," a stunned Super Boy said. "To be a legionnaire, you must have actual super powers."

"I know that, Super Boy, and I do have a super power, as does Lana."

"Lana gets her insect abilities from her bio-ring,"

"Not anymore," Lana muttered.

"Would you care to explain Lana?" Mon-El asked.

Lana took a deep breath. "As you all know, I received my Bio-Ring after I rescued an alien trapped under a fallen tree. This ring gave me the ability to take on the characteristics of any insect. Well, since I last applied for legion membership some things have changed. For one thing, In the late twentieth century, Earth was invaded by a race of slug like creatures called the Yeerks. These creatures would take over sentient creatures by sending themselves into one's ear and flattening themselves into the crevasses of the victim's brain. The creatures they infest are called controllers. Some people voluntarily allow this to happen, others are taken by force. At any rate, they no longer have any control over their thoughts and actions. Any way, an alien crash-landed in an abandoned construction sight. There were five young kids there as well as Pete and I. We were kind of hidden at the time, as we were busy with each other." Lana blushed. "When we heard the commotion of his space ship crashing, we got ourselves together and went to see what was going on. Pete and I, being honorary Legionnaires, were not surprised by the Alien, as the kids appeared to be. This alien was named Elfangor-Sirrinial-Shamtul. He was from a race called Andalites. He told us all about the Yeerks and gave us each the ability to absorb and transform ourselves into any living thing at all. Each of us decided to absorb the dying Andalite so that we could join this intergalactic battle. When we were finished, we all hid as another space ship landed near the other one. Out of this ship came an evil looking creature, also an Andalite, called Visser Three. He transformed himself into this hideous alien creature and proceeded to devour the dying Elfangor. When he was finished, he strode calmly to his ship and took off. When he was gone, the five kids, Jake, Cassie, Rachel, Marco, and Tobias, and Pete and I came out of hiding. We agreed to help them in their battle when we could. We were eventually joined by Elfangor's little brother Aximili, an Andalite Cadet. Eventually, the Animorphs as we called ourselves were able to recruit enough help and defeat the Yeerks. Normally, there is a two-hour time limit for a morph. You must resume your normal shape or you become stuck in that morph forever. However, because of my prior ability to transform into an insect, I am not affected by this time limit. A couple of weeks ago, on our way to our honeymoon, we were in a car accident and Pete was hurt bad. He needed a transfusion and my blood type is the same as Pete's. It was a direct transfusion and he acquired some of my Andalite enhanced DNA, which means that he no longer, has to worry about the two hour time limit either. Another benefit is that we also have a power that allows our wounds to heal extremely fast.

As Lana finished her tale, she transformed herself into an Andalite. After the transformation, Lana had blue fur all over her body. She now looked like a blue deer except that she now had 4 eyes and a deadly looking scorpion type tail. Pete also assumed the form of an Andalite, their menacing tail blades swishing in the air giving them a terrifying appearance.

As Pete and Lana resumed their normal forms, the Legionnaires began to discuss the unusual pair's request. All except Super Boy, that is. **He was still in a state of shock after finding out his best friend, Pete Ross, had married his girlfriend.** After a few moments, Mon-El spoke. "We will take the new facts under consideration, pending passage of an initiation test," he said. Lana and Pete were ushered into the shielded room to await their tests. As they left the room, neither noticed the tears streaming down Super Boy's face.

When Super Girl returned, Mon-El said: "The next applicant may be heard, Super Girl."

Super Girl went outside of the meeting room. When she returned, she was followed by a girl about 16 years of age dressed in gothic red and black. "Please tell us your name, where you come from, and your powers."

My name is Scarlet Alixa Maximoff. I am a mutant from Earth. My powers are super speed, shape shifting, power and memory absorbing, and teleportation. My friends call me the Scarlet Witch, after one of my ancestors."

"Would you demonstrate your powers please," said Kara. "Starting with Super Speed."

Scarlet smiled and took two black hair clips out of her hair and walked over to Shadow Lass seated at the far end of the group. She placed the clips in front of Shadow Lass and walked to the other end of the room. Then she turned and there was a flash of red. When she turned to face the Legionnaires, both hair clips were back in her hair and not in front of Shadow Lass. Next she went over to Cosmic Boy whose power is super magnetism. She reached out to shake his hand. "Don't worry Cosmic Boy. I won't hurt you." After she shook his hand, she immediately transformed herself to look just like Cosmic Boy and then held out her hand, drawing a metal bar to her. Finally, she teleported herself out of the room with the metal bar in her hand. Just as suddenly, she reappeared as herself in front of the group with the same metal bar, which Scarlet handed to Super Girl.

The Legionnaires were all impressed with the display of her abilities. Mon-El instructed Super Girl to put Scarlet in the room with Lana and Pete. "We will take your abilities under consideration pending the initiation tests. Will you bring in the next applicant, as well, Super Girl?"

Kara El did as she was instructed. The next applicant was a very young man of about 15 years of Age. "My name is Cory Swiss III. My power is to transform any substance or element to any variety of cheeses. I am from Roquefortbleu, a small planet in the cheddar quadrant. Without being asked, he transformed the metal bar in Super Girl's hand into a plate of Limburger Cheese. As the stench filled the room, all of the legionnaires simultaneously pressed the rejection button. "Mr. Swiss, you have been rejected for legion membership. Your abilities, while unique, are just not practical for our job. We will give you a recommendation to take to the United Planets relief organization. They will certainly be able to utilize your unique ability."

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Micro Lad looked at Forge. "Just what was your project supposed to do? Maybe I can help."

Forge wondered if he should trust the Imskian before him. Although, he had returned his backup hard drive, Forge was not entirely sure that Micro Lad was not the saboteur to begin with. Sensing his hesitation, Lalo explained. "I just got here today and No, I did not mess with your project."

Forge shook his head. "It is a time machine," he explained. What bothers me is that I tested it myself and it worked flawlessly. Yet, when I used it on my friends, it de-aged them instead of sending them back through time. It then died and I could not reverse the process. When I got back to my lab, I discovered that all of my cds and my regular hard drive were missing. My regular drive had been replaced with a corrupted non functioning one. My computer would not even boot up. Fortunately, I had made a backup of my work which is what I was searching for when you appeared holding it."

"How long was it between when you tested the device and when you used it on your friends," Lalo asked?

"About an hour. I had set an automatic return setting on it. I had gone back in time to a period of 3 years ago. In actuality, I was gone about 15 minutes when I was returned to the present. When I reappeared, I decided to take the machine to show my friends," Forge replied.

"So in the space of about 15 minutes, your project was sabotaged and your data stolen. That is one bad thief. Any ideas as to who this person could be?"

"I have a pretty good idea who the culprit is," Forge answered. "My video camera picked up a person entering my lab and then the person just vanished."

"Was this person male or female?" Lalo asked.

"I could not tell. The criminal disappeared before the camera could get a clear view," Forge continued. "That is why I thought you could be the thief. Sorry. Also, it is weird. The person I suspect can not, to my knowledge, turn herself invisible."

"Your apology is accepted," Micro lad replied. "I can understand where you are coming from now, but as I told you before, I am not responsible. Perhaps we will be able to recreate your data from your back up hard drive and fix your problem."

"I sure hope so," Forge said. "Otherwise I am in big trouble." Just then, Forge's telephone rang.

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The Time trapper began searching through the fabric of time for Apocalypse. It took him several hours of searching before he finally found the super mutant. Apocalypse was working with with several other mutants in an effort to take over the world again. The other mutants were Crystal Maximoff, her newlywed husband, Sebastian Morrison Summers, who is called Cyclops after one of his ancestors, and his sister, Jeanne Gray Summers, aka New Dark Phoenix. Realizing that he could not just seize Apocalypse, The time Trapper decided to bring all of them to his lair at the end of time. He would have to decide if any of them would prove useful in his quest to control the universe.

A strange glow emanated from the Time Trapper's hands as he reached into the time stream to bring his new recruits to the end of time.

**Ello peebles! We see you! We know you are there! This is Howlerdrode and Heartsyhawk! Why are you not reviewing? Well this ought to give ya something to review over. We can smell the flames. Muh-hahaha! But be forewarned...you flame us, St. John Allerdyce, our beloved favorite Pyro, gets control of them...We expect that there will be questions...or maybe WHAT THE HECK's. Some of the stuffs are bound to shock and terrify you. Review! Tell us what you think! We know more than just ETA read this. We don't bite. How about an even exchange. If you review and have written something, one (prolly Heartsyhawk) or both of us will review your story. And many of you know that is an honor...**

Okay yeah the number one reviewer was dundundun EviltwinAlix! Yay! Thank you for reviewing. You set an example for all the sloths out there who are too lazy to hit the review button! Wear this smiley face button with pride! Oh and don't worry the stuff you are confused on will become understood.


	4. Broken Hearts and Shattered Dreams

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END OF THE WORLD

CHAPTER FOUR

(BROKEN HEARTS AND SHATTERED DREAMS)

When the last Legion applicant and the other legionnaires had left Legion Headquarters for the evening, Mon-El and Super Girl noticed that Super Boy was still there. Usually the boy of steel was quite jovial and happy especially around new applicants. Today, he had been very quiet and subdued. Suddenly, his cousin realized why. "Kal-El, You do realize that Lana is not who you are destined to be with, don't you?"

Super Boy looked at his cousin with pain and sadness in his eyes. "No, Kara, I did not realize that. When I left Smallville this morning, I kissed Lana goodbye. I am so very much in love with her. Why? Pete and Lana hardly speak to each other unless it is to icily say hello. They do not like each other at all. How can they be married?" Tears flowed down his cheeks once again.

At this point, Mon-El spoke up. "Kal-El, this event will occur several years in your future. A lot will happen between now and then. If it is any consolation, I was as shocked as you are. When I picked them up in Metropolis to bring them to the Legion meeting, they were together and very happy but I did not know they had gotten married. I am sorry, my friend."

"Come on cousin, Let's fly a bit. You need to be cheered up. I know the perfect place for you," Kara said to him as she grabbed his hand. "Mon-El, we may not make it back for the meeting in the morning. You'll just have to get along without us. We will have our flight rings in case of an emergency. Kara reached into her cape and put the seldom worn ring onto her left hand. (Author's note, Even though she does have one, Super Girl does not usually wear her Legion Flight Ring which allows her to be in touch with the Legion even across time.)

"Where are you taking me, Kara?" Super Boy asked.

First, we are going to the arctic region of Earth. I want to see the Aurora Borealis;" she answered. As they flew off together, Kara scanned the area of the arctic with her telescopic vision. She was looking for a solid gold key, which doubled as an airline marker in the 21st century. She hoped it was still there a thousand years later. "It should be," she thought. "Only Super Man and I know exactly where it is kept." Finally, she found it buried inside a mountain of snow. At Super Speed, both Kryptonians flew into the frozen tundra. Super Girl burrowed through the mountain of snow and retrieved the key. Then they took it to a remote glacier. Super Girl inserted the key into a massive lock. When they stepped inside, They were reminded of their home world. This was Super Man's fortress of solitude and he had made it to look exactly like a city on Krypton. In the 20th and 21st centuries, Super Man would often come here to unwind. Kara had spent many hours here relaxing as well. With a wave of her hand a window opened and they could see the northern lights in all of their glory. The view was incredibly breath taking. After a few moments, Super Girl turned to an antique computer screen and said "ergoluth sharmtiful," ("power up" in Kryptonian language) Instantly, there was a whirring of lights and a few noises as the machine sputtered to life.

"Greetings, Kara-El, Do you have the password?"

Super Girl quickly typed in the word "KANDOR" followed by "Lara-El and Jor-El. Recognizing the password sequence, the computer began to open up the Archives of Metropolis for her to examine. Super Boy was amazed. The computer looked exactly like the machine he used in Smallville as a reporter for the Smallville High newspaper, The Torch. As if reading his mind, Kara turned to him and said "Yes, Kal-El; this is your computer. When you grow up to be Super Man, you will construct this fortress of solitude and make your high school computer the control center. You used Q Basic to write the programs and wrote using Kryptonian language for security. Only you and I know the passwords to get into the computer. The computer is incredibly obsolete by 30th century standards but it will work for you. One of the programs you wrote enabled the computer to archive all historical events and store it on a massive hard drive you made. Would you like to see a bit of history?"

Super Girl typed in Lana Lang, Pete Ross, Wedding. Instantly, a video started playing on the screen. The date of the video was labeled 12-31-1998. It showed Super Man acting as Lana's Father and Giving Lana away to Pete Ross. He had a big smile on his face. Superman was also wearing a wedding band. Lana's Matron of Honor was none other than Chloe Sullivan Kent, Super Man's bride. She was also known in the world as "Lois Lane, reporter for the Daily Planet."

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The phone rang in Forge's Lab. "Hello," Forge said picking up the brightly colored receiver on his desk.

"Forge, this is Lance. Have you found a solution yet?"

"As a matter of fact, Lance, I have made some progress. I have been able to find my back up data drive and I will _hopefully_ be able to find out what went wrong from that. I will let you know as soon as I have anything.

"Well, just to let you know the adults will be back in less than two weeks and this problem must be solved. Also, many of the older kids have left for summer camp, so there are fewer of us to look after the mini mutants, some of whom have had their powers emerge. HELP! Oh God, Forge, I just got back from the hospital. Rogue's powers activated! She drained some mutant lifeguard and then fainted! And we need this whole damn mess fixed like, now!" Lance was almost frantic as he told Forge about the phone call from Storm and the incident with Rogue's powers.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Forge quickly ended the phone call and began to install the precious back up drive into his computer system. "Hopefully, everything is here that I need." Micro Lad and Forge began to examine the documents.

"What exactly are we looking for, Forge?" Micro Lad asked. "You have thousands of files here."

"We are looking for a file named **'Mordru Time Trapper.' ** It should be filed in reverse alphabetical order," Forge replied.

When Lalo heard the names of two of the greatest villains of his time, he went pale as a ghost.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Forge asked, alarmed. "Are you alright?"

"Well... I am fine. It's just that Mordru and Time Trapper are horrible criminals on my world."

"Oh...well I didn't mean anything by it, man." Forge frowned. "I just thought Mordru sounded cool and I called it Time Trapper because well, the original plan allowed the operator to in a sense trap time in his hands." The mutant shrugged.

"I know there is no possible way you could have known who they were, as you are obviously not a space scout or one who deals with alien affairs, it just comes as a shock to hear those two names used in polite conversation between two civilized beings."

"Uh...sorry man?" Forge offered. "So why do they seem to scare you so much? If you don't mind me asking, of course."

"I have had the...displeasure of meeting them while imprisoned for my heinous crime of fighting for my world's freedom." Lalo frowned. "They were guilty of attempted world domination. They were housed in solitary confinement cells as they posed danger to the entire planet, but they were allowed to dine and relax with other prisoners during recreation times."

"Oh." Forge nodded.

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Meanwhile, at the Xavier Institute for Gifted Students, Lance was about to pull his hair out. The kids were being kids, but he wasn't used to it. After all, he'd only gotten his first real dose of young kids a few days ago. Currently, chaos reined supreme. He'd brought Rogue home from the hospital and she now seemed deathly afraid of being around the other children, lest she touch them and absorb them. On the way home he and Wanda had explained her powers to her. She had cried but basically accepted it.

Remy on the other hand, didn't seem to care or worry that she could very well knock him out with a mere touch. He kept following her every time she moved to a new distant corner.

"Why ya fallin' me?" She asked distantly as he tagged along yet again. "Ya gonna git hutted." She sniffled.

"So?" He asked. "Yo' Remy's frien'. An' Remy ain' scared o' yah like de ot'ers Marie." He gestured to the other kids who were playing and allowing her to have her distance. Though, they didn't really know what was wrong, just that she was upset and that they didn't want to get on her bad side.

"Ya should be." She said crossly. "Ah don' wanna hut ya Remy. Really. Ah don'. Ah suck the enegy right out peoples wiv jus' ma skin." She said seriously.

"So, Remy kin splode t'ings." He shrugged. "Y' stayed wit' Remy when he sploded de shampoo an' de crayn. Why shouldn' Remy still be y' ami just acuz o' dat?"

"Why da y'all wanna be ma frayend fo' anyway?" She wrinkled her nose.

He shrugged. "Why not?"

Before she could answer Jean came over. "So...is it true? Do you weally kill peebles when you touch 'em?"

"Jeannie, leave her 'lone." Remy scowled.

"Remy, stay outta this. Well maybe, ya wanna come closer an' find out?" Marie smirked.

Jean stuck out her tongue and huffed off. On the other side of the room, Scott was busily playing with a toy block set so Jean decided to help him and build a castle.

Lance rolled his eyes as the young girl started lecturing about a perfect castle. Scott listened and then started explaining his. Together they agreed and set to work.

The older mutant looked around the room and decided that these kids were plotting against the non infant mutants. Bobby and Kurt were arguing over a toy car that both claimed as theirs. Tabitha was crying for no real reason. Fred was upset because Tabitha had been a bit pushy and took the lollipop he had. Piotr was busily trying to convince Bobby that yes, his superman training underwear was nice, but it was not designed to be a hat. The two-year-old had discovered a full package of them and deemed them as cool hats.

Wanda was looking frazzled as she juggled Todd in one arm and desperately tried to stop Pyro from eating crayons.

"But they good!" The boy smiled with a mouthful of red and orange Crayola crayons.

"John, they're bad." She sighed. "Get those out of your mouth."

Obediently he let the half chewed crayons drip down his chin and he spit the rest out. Wanda groaned and wished that she was anywhere but here.

"Oh, now we have to go clean you up." She set the baby down and gingerly picked up the drool/crayon faced two-year-old.

He grinned and clapped. "Yucky Yucky!" He laughed.

"Yucky is right." Wanda assured him. "No more eating crayons. Or bugs. Or toys. Okay?"

"No." He shook his head and laughed. "Me like carryons. Yum!"

The older mutant rolled her eyes and grabbed a napkin and removed the colorful mush from his face. She carried him over to where he had been sitting and scooped up the crayons before setting him back down. "No getting in trouble kid."

He nodded and toddled over to where Kurt and Bobby were squabbling and joined in. Lance sighed as he felt a gentle tug on his pants leg.

"Uppy!" Kitty raised her arms expectantly. "Peez."

His expression softened as he gently lifted her. "Hey pretty Kitty. How are you doing? You looking for a way to add to my headache?"

"Nuh uh." She shook her head. "Gotted Loney. And you look weal upsetted. You okay?"

"I'll be fine Kitty cat." He smiled and lightly kissed her forehead. "Why don't you go play with Remy and Marie or Jean and Scott or Tabby?"

The girl smiled and headed over to Marie. Wanda stepped over to Lance.

"You look a little stressed." She commented.

"Maximoff, you have no idea." He shook his head. "This whole mess seems like its getting worse. Before, we were all worrying about getting into trouble but now, I don't know...now we have to worry about people getting hurt."

Wanda nodded seriously. "We should call the professor. He really can help us Lance. You know that."

"I know." He frowned. "Right now I want to call him and have him come home. I can't fix this. I need the adults to help."

"When should we call?"

"I think maybe after dinner. That'll give me time to plan what I want to say." Lance ran a hand through his hair, frustrated.

"Okay." Wanda nodded.

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Back in Forge's lab, Forge and Lalo were examining the files. They hadn't figured it out yet and were nearly at the end of the file. Forge groaned in exasparation.

"What went wrong?"

Lalo shrugged uneasily. He stared at the computer monitor and then glanced back at the file. "Everything matches...except! Wait! That must be it! Forge, this set of calculations is mismatched." He pointed out.

"Woah! How'd I do that?" Forge frowned. "Oh geez you mean instead of one negative sign I had two? Well that would certainly explain why this happened." He bit his lip in excitement and corrected the error.

He powered up the machine that had malfunctioned and aimed it at the dog he tested on. It looked up in alarm.

"Don't worry Boy. It won't hurt you." He started it and after a flash of red light there was a tiny pup sitting in the basket.

Forge gulped and aimed the newer machine at the puppy and in a flash of white light the dog was restored back to its proper age, though it seemed to be unconscious for a few moments before sitting up, clueless to what had just happened as it curled up and went to sleep.

"Eureka! Triumph! Its fixed!" He grinned. "Quickly lets head over to where my friends live." He dashed out the door and climbed into the car and about ten minutes later, Lalo and Forge were standing outside the institute door. Forge was bouncing in anticipation as he rang the bell in excitement.

Lance opened the door with a serious look. "What?"

"Lance, I fixed it! I fixed it! I found the error! It was a miscalculation!"

Lance raised an eyebrow. "You pulling my leg?"

"NO! It works now! And there hasn't been any time for curruption!"

"Oh God, are you serious Forge?" Lance grinned stupidly. "Wahoo! Its solved? Come on, Come on, no time to waste at all!" He ushered them down to the danger room.

"Lance?" Wanda asked warily. "Are you high or something?"

"No Wanda, he fixed it! He really did! Get the kids into a group! They won't be babies."

Wanda nodded and had everyone help flock the toddlers into a large play pen. Amara had just woken up and was blinking as she yawned. Todd was playing with his toes and gurgling. Bobby Kurt and Pyro continued arguing about the car. Freddy just sat there looking confused. Tabitha was bored and sucking on her thumb, looking tired. Kitty babbled and cooed to herself and a toy bear. Jean and Scott sat obediently and Rogue was holding her best friends hand as they talked about why he should not push his luck.

"Ok. Lets go." Forge initiated the startup sequence and a bright green light engulfed the room. Nothing seemed to happen for a few minutes and just as Lance's hopeful expression faded, Scott and Remy were suddenly stretching and growing. They were followed by Jean and Rogue and then the rest. They quickly metamorphosed from undeveloped toddlers to nearly grown adults. With a final burst of white light, it was finished. The twelve former mini-mutants were now back to proper size and age. They were all unconscious, sprawled in the playpen.

Remy was the first awake. He looked around with wild eyes and confusion. "What de..."

Rogue's eyes opened and emerald pools of confusion found Red-and-Black. She sat up quickly. "What the Sam Hill happened here?" She demanded.

One by one the others woke up, in various states of confusion. Kitty shook her head and sat up. "Like, woah. What happened? Like, did someone get the number of that bus?"

"Kitty!" Lance cried. Within seconds Kitty was swept into a tight hug and Lance was crying into her shoulder. "Oh God, its you. You're back! I love you so much."

Kitty looked slightly alarmed as she awkwardly patted his back. "Are you, like, alright Lance?"

"I'm fine now that you are you again." He grinned.

A few feet away, tears were streaming down Wanda's face. But she wasn't sad, on the contrary she was so overjoyed she didn't know what to do. She was smiling softly at Todd.

"You-You're back to normal." She smiled.

"Course I am angel face." He grinned at her.

She half choked and hugged him. "I like you so much better when you aren't a baby."

He looked vaguely alarmed but happy. "Okay," he replied. Then he glanced downward. He blinked in embarassment.

"Um this is...awkward." He looked down to the blue footed pajamas he was wearing, complete with little yellow teddy bears. "Anyone wanna tell me what the heck's goin' on here yo?"

Lance pointed to Forge. "Ask him."

"Well, apparently the clothes you were wearing as babies grew with you." The super genius shrugged. "So all twelve of you are wearing baby clothes, and well, a few of you are wearing diapers as well."

"Hey why do I have a diaper on my head?" Bobby demanded while removing it.

Piotr shrugged. Forge smiled uneasily. "Yeah, well you guys probably should all change into normal clothes. Probably especially you Todd, Amara, Tabby, and Scott."

"So we were babies?" Fred wrinkled his nose. "Wierd. I don't feel like I've been a little kid. But that would explain my sudden craving for strained squash now wouldn't it?"

"How long?" Amara asked hesitantly.

"About three days." Lance answered gently. "We've been taking care of you all."

"Yeah-and-it-wasn't-the-most-pleasant-experience-of-our-lives." Pietro frowned. "With-all-the-diapers-and-feedings-and-trouble-and-don't-get-me-started-on-the-chaos-all-of-you-caused." The speedster shook his head. "Oh-and-how-hard-do-you-think-understanding-baby-talk-is? Not-one-of-you-could-pronounce-my-name. I've-been-called-everything-from-Peeto-to-Pearto-to-Peachero."

The kids all laughed as he turned on Remy and Rogue. "And-you-two-were-the-absolutely-worst-little-nightmares-with-your-mushy-sentimental-friendship-feelings-and-darned-accents-and-tomboy-behavior." He raised his eyes at Rogue who chuckled nervously knowing the last one was meant for her. "And-another-thing, Gambit-exploding-shampoo-and-crayons-and-breaking-your-arm-and-Rogue-absorbing-that-lifeguard-you-two-drive-me-stark-raving-mad."

"Well dat splains de cast on Remy's arm." The Cajun nodded sagely.

"Well now that this chaos is over, maybe we can have a somewhat normal summer vacation." Lance smiled, having no idea that this was nothing compared to what the future held in store for them.

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Hiya peoples! Well not like there've been too many of you...Uh reminds us...review responses.

Golden Fire Knight- uh....what? No Heartsyhawk doesn't do guilds. Especially since the issue with the Thieves' guild animousity. You know, that sitch doesn't wash too well. And we apreciate the people who have reviewed of course, why wouldn't we but in Heartsyhawk's other stories reviews fly in and this has a fraction of the responses. Um thanks for reviewing twice but quit ragging on us okay?

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fantomfictioner- Heartsyhawk says thanks for the praise. Bananas? Should we ask?

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Romy ruler- Thanks for the praise.

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Eviltwin Alix- Thanks.

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Okay now that we did that, so what did you think? Heartsyhawk has become more active in this story and her bit is making this a sister story to her work 'Back in Diapers'. For the X-men evo part, it would help greatly if you were familiar with that, but if you can inference, you don't really need it. There will be more x-men evoverse involvement from this point onward and though we understand that few of you out there have no clue about the Legion of Super Heroes but it'll be okay. The first few chapters were more of background and solving the age issue than the action that starts in heavy next chapter.

Heartsyhawk would also like to point out that though this is a sister story, this is by no means what will happen in BiD, just an alternate could happen. So if you follow BiD this is alternate reality okay? There may be different scenarios and solutions and character development but this is good too. So we'd really love it if you told us how we are doing. A review from somebody new would be adored. We both love newbies. So tell us if ya liked it. Or hated it. Or even if it bored you to tears we kinda need to know so we can make it better! Luv ya lot and happy holiday season!


	5. Here Comes Trouble

**__Hello, we are back once again. It appears a little background information has been requested. First, We need to thank our wonderful reviewers.******

Romy Ruler, thank you for the accolades.

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Fantomfictioner, I like your style. Thank you for the bowl of bananas. Consider her told. She appreciated the comments.

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Golden Fire Knight, We thank you twice. At the time of the request, we only had one review. She could not change the superhero list, as I would not let her. Some of them will soon depart the story. No, Heartsyhawk is not a member of the knight's guild, and neither am I.

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Boston Dudette, **Tante du Nord**, **Calliope**, and **Toujours**, thanks for the helpful advice. As for all of your questions, first, the Legion of Superheroes made its first appearance in adventure comics, which were the early adventures of Super Boy. Then it became Super Boy and the Legion of Superheroes. That is why the Story has Super Boy. The Legion of Superheroes is a group founded in the thirtieth century. The founding members were Lightning Lad, a young man who could emit bolts of electricity from his hands, Saturn Girl, a telepath from Titan, Saturn's largest moon, and Cosmic Boy who had the power of Super Magnetism. There were many other members. For more information on these crime-fighting teenagers who patterned themselves after Super Boy you might want to check out h t t p : m e m b e r s . s h a w . c a / l e g i o n o f s u p e r -h e r o e s / m a i n p a g e . h t m . This is a good source for information on The Legion of Superheroes. Another place, besides your favorite comic book store, would be h t t p : o m e g a (dot) a n i m e f r i n g e (dot) c o m / l s h h l p / (dot) (just take out all the spaces and turn the (dot)'s into periods.)Here you can download a help file, which has a lot of information regarding the Legion membership and various villains they encountered as well as other characters of importance.

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Disclaimer: Neither Howlerdrode nor Heartsyhawk own Marvel Comics or DC Comics nor do they claim ownership of any characters actually owned by Marvel or DC, (not even in our dreams or wildest imaginations.) And now:

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CHAPTER FIVE

HERE COMES TROUBLE

Super Girl and Super Boy had just finished watching the video record of Pete and Lana's wedding. "Do you feel any better, Kal-El," his cousin asked? Even though she had revealed quite a bit of her cousin's future to him, she was not really worried as she knew that he would not remember these details when he returned to his time. Saturn Girl has implanted a hypnotic suggestion into his mind which forced Super Boy (and Super Girl, as well) to forget details affecting them personally when they returned to their own times. They would only remember when they returned to the Thirtieth Century or beyond.

"Yes, Kara. I do feel better. Thank you," Super Boy replied. "What do you want to do now, cousin?"

Super Girl grinned. "If you are not depressed anymore about Pete marrying Lana, let's go for a quick flight around the world and then get back to Legion HQ, if you don't mind. I would like to be there for the initiation tests tomorrow.

Super Boy smiled. "Let's make it a slow flight, cousin. I want to enjoy the scenery. It is not often that we get to enjoy a flight around the world together."

Kara began shutting up the Fortress. First she closed the window, shutting off the view of the Northern Lights. Next, she shut down the Fortress' computer system. No sense running all that power when no one was there. After finally securing everything, she escorted Kal-El towards the exit. He seemed to be intrigued by a city in a bottle. "That is a model of Kandor," she told him. Prior to the destruction of our planet, that city was shrunk and bottled by an evil villain named Braniac. You rescued it when you defeated him. Eventually you were able to restore it to a planet you discovered and named New Krypton. We built the model to remind us about our heritage.

As the two Kryptonians left the Fortress of Solitude, Super Girl locked the massive door, activated the hologram which protected it and, after melting and vaporizing the mountain of snow, replaced the key where it had been for over a thousand years. Once again, the solid gold key could serve as a guiding marker for air traffic.

-

Meanwhile, at Legion headquarters, Shrinking Violet (a girl from the planet Imsk, who like Micro Lad could shrink to microscopic size) was monitoring space traffic coming towards Earth. Her attention was on a small fast moving ship, which had appeared out of nowhere. It was like it had been dropped into the universe. Soon two other vessels joined it. These three ships were heading directly towards Earth at an incredible pace. "What is their hurry," she thought. Quickly, she plotted the projected course of the three rapidly closing ships. "Oh, my stars. Those three ships are not only headed for Earth, but they are on a direct collision course for Legion Headquarters," she said out loud. "What do they want with the Legion?"

"What ships?" Came a voice.

Somewhat startled, Shrinking Violet turned around. The voice belonged to Scarlett Maximoff who had applied for Legion membership earlier in the day. "Oh, hello, Scarlett. Have they assigned initiation tests yet?"

"No. Apparently, there were a lot of applicants to get through, today. Mon-El said they would assign them in the morning and gave Lana, Pete, and I quarters for the evening. I was just walking around the public area when I heard your exclamation. What ships are you talking about?"

Shrinking Violet turned back towards the monitor. "These three ships right here," she pointed. They will be here within a day. I can't figure out why they are coming here in such a hurry. There have been no interstellar distress signals or reports of danger."

When Scarlett saw the lead ship, she turned very white as all of the color drained from her face. "It can't be!" She exclaimed. "Not after all these years."

"Scarlett, what is wrong?" Violet asked

Scarlett groaned. "There is a story that has been passed down through the generations of my family. At the end of the twentieth century, the beginning of the 21st century, there was a mutant that had been released from a thousand-year imprisonment. This mutant was named Apocalypse. His plan was to speed up the evolution of humanity so that all humans would become mutants, which he would enslave in a bid to take over the world. Had he succeeded, most of the world's population would not have survived. Normal humans were no threat to him. The only ones, who dared to oppose him were a small band of Mutants, called the X-Men. Two other smaller groups, The Brotherhood of Mutants and The Acolytes joined them. Both of these groups were led by a mutant named Magneto. His reasoning for trying to stop Apocalypse was so that he could take over the world himself. Anyway, to make a long story short, they ultimately defeated Apocalypse and imprisoned him in his own spacecraft, the spacecraft then disappeared. It was thought to have fallen through the cracks of time and lost forever. The lead ship you see is exactly the way his ship has been described through the years. I always believed the story to be a legend." She shuddered gently and drew her arms tightly around herself as she finished the story. Upon closer examination Shrinking Violet realized she was shaking uncontrollably.

Violet was sure that there was more to the story but out of respect for young girl trembling in front of her, she decided not to press the issue. "This is a matter for the whole Legion to discuss," she said. "It sure sounds dangerous to me." Turning to the microphone in front of her, she issued the command, "LEGIONNAIRES, ASSEMBLE AT ONCE IN THE MAIN HALL." At the same time, she pressed the emergency beacon button, which broadcast the emergency signal to all Legion Flight Rings throughout time and space. Then she pressed the Priority One button, requiring all members of the Legion, The Legion of Substitute Heroes and the Legion reservists to report to Legion HQ. This is only used in cases of extreme emergency. Violet made the decision based on Scarlett's story.

Super Boy and Super Girl were still enjoying their leisurely flight around the world when their Flight Rings began to glow a bright emerald green, the color of Kryptonite. "That is the emergency signal-Priority One!" Exclaimed Super Boy. Something big must be going on. We had better get back pronto." Two blue streaks flashed across the sky as they altered their course to proceed directly to Metropolis and Legion HQ.

At the same time, the alarm began to sound in the ship carrying Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel to their home planet. Both former Legionnaires looked at the blinking emerald green light in horror. "Luornu, that is the emergency-Priority One Signal. The Legion needs our help. It must be big. I hope it is not Mordru again."

"Chuck, we had better turn around then. I pray it is not Mordru, either. He took a lot out of us the last time," Duo Damsel replied.

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Forge and Lalo left the Xavier Institute after restoring the mini-mutants back to normal. As they got into Forge's car, Lalo turned to Forge. "One thing bothers me, Forge. You told me you tested your time machine on yourself and it worked properly. Yet when you used it on your friends, it de-aged them instead of sending them back in time. That is not how time machines are supposed to work, right?" .

"You are right, Micro Lad. That one miscalculation changed the physical side of the equation, which we have corrected. There are still some other issues I have to resolve before the machine is completely right."

Lalo wondered if he should tell Forge about his time bubble and being from the future. He decided not to at this time. He would help Forge fix his machine, however. Lalo knew that he would eventually have to tell Forge the truth. Spending 20 years in the Intergalactic Prison had changed Lalo. He now realized that while the goal to get his planet away from the United Planets may have been a noble one, his methods were totally wrong. He resolved to also apologize to the Legion and especially Shrinking Violet. His treatment of her was especially malevolent and reprehensible. He only hoped that they would forgive him and believe that he had changed. (Author's note: if you want to know what happened, let us know in your review).

"Forge, I heard you say something earlier that bothers me. You had just let that "Lance" guy out of your lab. After you closed the door, you said 'If the short-"

"-Tempered rock tumbler ever finds out what really happened, I'll be in real trouble," Forge interrupted?

"Yes, that's it. What did you mean by that," Lalo asked?

"Well," an embarrassed Forge began. "Remember when I asked you if Psylocke had sent you?"

"Yes, I remember that," Lalo replied. "Who is Psylocke?"

"It is a long story. Let's just say that we don't get along real well. She is a mutant who has been trained both as a master thief and a master assassin. She has been a member of both the Thieves' guild and the Assassins' guild, two rival criminal organizations. She is a telepath who can also use astral projection to take over someone's body. I believe she may have done that to me. When I reviewed my security tapes, the only person entering the lab appeared to be me. So, unless I am totally insane and deliberately messed up my own project, that is the only explanation I can come up with. You do understand why I won't publicly make that accusation without a significant amount of evidence to back up my story, don't you, Lalo?"

"Yeah, I really do," Micro Lad replied. "Any possibility of someone impersonating you and getting into your lab?"

"I suppose it is possible, replied Forge. "The only mutant I know of who is capable of that is supposed to be dead, though."

The two fell silent for the rest of the trip to Forge's place.

-

Meanwhile, at the end of time, The Time Trapper was rubbing his hands with glee. "Finally, I am creating a new timeline, one, which will see the end of the accursed Legion of Superheroes and my ultimate victory and reign over the universe."

"I am not so sure that you can trust that super mutant, Master," Universo stated calmly. Remember that he also wants to control the universe. And the one with the laser beam eyes may be too insane to be of use to us. The others are too easily overcome. The only one who may actually worthy is that elemental girl, what is her name?"

"Her name, Universo, is Crystal Maximoff. She used to be goody-two-shoes according to the time tapes. She somehow ended up in a future timeline working with Apocalypse. I am sure that it was not a voluntary alliance. She is not to be trusted. She was part of the group with Apocalypse when I brought him through the time stream. No matter, she won't survive anyway. Neither will the others, I will see to that."

Hearing this callous dismissal, Universo realized that he could no longer work with or trust the Time Trapper. How he could get away would take some planning on his part. He also decided to somehow help the Legion win this battle.

-

At Legion headquarters, the Legion had already began to assemble. "What is up, Violet," Mon-El asked. Violet was standing at the front of the main hall. She was the one who had called the Legionnaires Priority one, so Mon-el deferred to her.

Violet turned on the main viewer for space traffic. "The problem is these three ships right here. They just appeared out of nowhere. They are traveling at a very high rate of Speed and they are heading right here. There are no distress signals or dangerous situations being reported any where in the universe at this time. When I noticed these ships traveling at a high rate of speed, I made an exclamation which was heard by Scarlett, here. When she saw the ships, she was very distressed and told me a story that had been relayed to her through the generations by her family. I think you should all hear this. We may have a threat to the universe here." Everyone looked at the young girl expectantly.

Scarlett sighed and brushed a strand of black hair from her eyes. "The mutant's name is Apocalypse. He tried to take over the world in ancient Egypt, but his own army feared him and turned against him. He was imprisoned for, like, five thousand years before he was accidentally released at the start of the 21st century. He tried to rule the world by turning all normal people into mutants and being the supreme ruler. He would have done it if it wasn't for a handful of vigilante mutants who were fighting for equality and peace between mutants and humans...the X-men, led by Charles Xavier, and a few others such as a group known as the Brotherhood of Bayville and, like, a bunch of scattered mutants from all over the place. But, like, almost everyone knows that story...I mean its in the history lessons and everything like that..." She smiled in slight pride of her heritage and then continued.

"It was this huge monstrously important battle, and during it, one of the mutants, a girl who'd shut herself off from the world because she couldn't touch anyone without hurting them, managed to trap him and send him hurling through time and space. Everyone's always assumed he fell through some crack in the time space continuum and would never be seen again...but that's his ship there! I know it! Its just like the ones from the stories I've always been told from my dad's side of the family...And that's all I know."

"And you are certain this whole thing is not simply a story meant to entertain you as a child?" One member spoke up sternly. "For all we know, this could just be an applicant arriving slightly late."

"Of course I'm sure. Every mutant alive knows the story of the X-men and Apocalypse. They're the reason we're free and treated like equals today! But my ancestors fought in the battle, of course they'd know what happened. I may be young but I'm not a little naive baby who'd tell this story without proof. I've seen the history tapes. And I could call my dad and he could bring the discs in for you to see. I'm not lying."

Mon-el then spoke up. "That is enough. We have no reason to not believe you Scarlett. Rond Vidar, can you tell us anything more about this Apocalypse character?"

Rond Vidar shook his head in reply. "While I have heard of a villain named Apokolips, who has been bent on World domination and can manipulate time, It is highly unlikely that this is the same character. I have no personal knowledge about this Apocalypse. I will examine time tapes from the time lines of the past as well as those of other dimensions for more information and will report my findings to you shortly.

Saturn Girl looked at Scarlett. "Do you know anything else about him?"

She shrugged and said, "Not much. He is supposed to be able to use multiple powers at once. And, I think he has unlimited power available because he absorbed many different mutant abilities from one of his victims, the one who unwittingly released him from his imprisonment and then locked him up again. I don't know how he'd deal with alien physiology, but if he got his hands on someone like Mon-El or Super boy or Super girl, I don't know how long the world would be left to find out the results. I don't mean to sound cheeky but maybe it would be best to go original source. The X-men may be helpful in getting more information about how to defeat him."

"That would appear to be a good idea, Scarlett." Mon-El replied. "I can not send you as you are not a Legionnaire and it may present a threat of history being changed. I am sure that while it would be an interesting experience, meeting your ancestors could severely upset the time stream."

"I understand, sir". Scarlett inclined her head slightly, masking her disappointment.

Saturn Girl nodded her head in agreement. She decided to talk to the young Goth for further details about who she knew had fought in the battle.

"Now that that particular issue has been solved, I want Super Boy, Super Girl, Shrinking Violet, and Light Lass to go to the 21st century to meet with the X-Men. Get as much information as possible about this Apocalypse so that we can defeat him. The fate of the universe may rest in your efforts, " Mon-El stated. "We will attempt to hold down the fort here. Every available Legionnaire, Reservist and Substitute must be deputized and summoned to active duty. And Super Girl, you are the leader of the time mission. Get back as quick as you can"

-

At the Xavier Institute for Gifted Students, Lance Alvers was busy explaining what had happened to his fellow teammates. No one who had been de-aged really remembered all the details of what had happened. Rogue was especially confused. She was still having problems arising from her contact with Carol Danvers.

She was very nervous, because, except for her first boyfriend, Cody, a non mutant human, she had never left another person unconscious for so long. The fact that Carol was a mutant with very special abilities scared her even more. Cody had eventually recovered and she hoped that Carol would also recover. Carol had been totally absorbed and was fighting to control her mind and body, adding to Rogue's anxiety. Although she was no longer a young child, she was still terrified. She wished Professor X and Dr. McCoy were here but they were not due back from their vacation yet. She felt so alone and needed someone to talk to. Just then, Kitty came up to her.

"Like, Can you believe what happened to us, Rogue?" The younger girl asked. "We were, like, babies for a couple days! Is that why you're, like, more anti-social than usual? Cuz I totally understand. Its really weird...I don't know if I can ever look at Lance and Wanda and the others the same."

Rogue looked up at her friend. "Kit, Ya walk through walls. Ya boyfriend makes earth quakes. Mah lil brother is a mixture of a squirrel, a smurf, and the devil and teleports. And Ah'm as close ta bein' a vampire as a person can get. Ta top it off weh all vigilante superheroes who can' even go inta a store ta buy bread withat all hell breakin' loose. Ah guess ta a flatscan, or anehone remotely normal, the fact that an inventor who has been stuck in limbo since the seventies just turned you an' meh an ten othas inta babies is hard to believe, but we should be useta this kahnda stuff. An' Ah've learned that if Forge is involved in something, we should run in the opposite direction. Ah dunno how we got roped into his scheme in the first place. That guy is brilliant, but he messes up a lot. It's like he does not pay attention to the littlest details. Sometimes, I think he does it on purpose."

The two girls continued talking about the events of the previous three days. Kitty was one of the few who had not had to experience the emergence of her mutant power for a second time. As she remembered the first time her power emerged, she shuddered. She'd fallen through two floors from her room into the basement and had been terrified but especially because of the way her parents had reacted. She was telling Rogue about this experience when she noticed her friend staring into space. "Rogue, like, are you with me? Like, earth to Rogue!"

"Huh what?" Rogue looked like she'd been jerked back onto the planet from some distant universe.

"You were like, totally spacing on me. Are you okay? Rogue?" Kitty looked at her friend in concern.

"Huh-wha...Ah'm fine...sorry. Ah'm just havin' some problems with the new resident in mah head. She's fightin' for control like she's actually in there." Rogue put a gloved hand to her temple. Suddenly she was seeing an impossible scene. Her eyes widened in shock and confusion; she could see the X-Jet flying over the Atlantic Ocean. The adults were on their way home. Rogue Blinked. Was she actually seeing the x-jet or having a precognition about their impending arrival or was it wishful thinking on her part?

-

****

ERRRRRRRT Stop sign. Everyone still with us? Well here's where you should all fasten your seat belts cuz things are gonna accelerate from here. The beginning few chapters were mostly background and the action starts with the next chapter. Ok, Howlerdrode and Heartsyhawk are gonna take the Carol Danvers thing in a way neither of us have ever seen done. Be patient as this WILL not be like any scenario with Carol Danvers Marvel has ever provided. But while perusing some old DC comics something smashed the two of us over the head. A blatantly obvious something that we intend to take and run with. We hope you will join us in our mad quest to point this out. However, to do so, we may alter the Carol Danvers you know by association ever so slightly. You need a hint? Study up on your DC mes amis.

On another side note, We would like to take the opportunity to remind any of you out there that this is a sister story to Heartsyhawk's back in diapers. You dont necessarily need it but several references will be made. Also, what happens in this story stays in this story.

Ok so we'll get the next chapter up ASAP, after a few technical bugs and details get worked out. We'll be doing a character summary to help the confused and action will take off like a rocket. So review and let us know what you think. Ideas and suggestions are always welcome and well, heck even flames are appreciated as long as they come with constructive criticism as to how to improve. We'll see you asap and on one final note from Heartsyhawk to Fantomfictioner...fruit is always appreciated and all that and I'm very thankful, but I'm kinda allergic to bananas so maybe could you avoid sending bowls of them?Thanks and everyone review since ya read...its common courtesy!


	6. A Confusing Time

****

CHAPTER SIX

A CONFUSING TIME

Lalo was silent as Forge drove back to his home. The time had come for him to come clean. He knew that he had to tell Forge the truth. Forge was in for a shock that was for sure. Lalo began to wonder how to begin. He was going to show Forge the stolen time bubble and explain his entire story. He knew that his new friend might turn on him and he may have to escape. No matter what happened, Micro Lad decided to return to the thirty first century and turn himself in to the authorities. He knew he would have to finish serving out his sentence plus some additional time for his escape. Little did he know what was in store for him.

As Forge pulled into his driveway, Lalo spoke up. "Forge, there are a few things you should know. I want to show you something. You are very interested in the concept of time travel so you need to see this." When the car stopped, Lalo did not go to the front door. Instead, he turned and began going to the back of the house. Forge followed. Once in the back yard, Micro Lad pressed a series of buttons on his belt. All of a sudden, a glowing sphere appeared.

"What the...!" Exclaimed Forge. The glowing device instantly captivated him.

"This is a time bubble," Lalo explained. "This is how I came here. You see, I am from the future. I am from Imsk, like I told you. Imsk is approximately 25,000 light years from Earth. In my time, Time and Space travel among various planets is fairly common, about like people in your time period travel to Florida. When I was younger, I got involved with a group of Imskian Rebels who did not like the United Planets, the organization to which most civilized worlds belonged. We believed that the United Planets was a corrupt and domineering organization whose main aim was to exploit the resources of the less powerful planets for the benefit of Earth. We wanted to secede from this organization. To do that, we needed information about the protectors of the U. P., The Science Police. The most powerful arm of the Science Police is the Legion of Super Heroes. One of my fellow Imskians is a member of this organization. I got the brilliant idea of persuading them to dump her and allow me to take her place. I would then get the information my group needed. I was rejected for Legion membership. In order to exact my revenge, I am ashamed to say, I kidnapped my countryman, hired a replacement actress to take her place in the Legion, and placed her in a sensory deprivation tank. My fellow rebels and I used all sorts of extremely cruel means to torture this girl. We kept her in this tank for about a year. To make a long story short, the Legion found out the truth and we were all captured. After a few years, I was released from prison. My planet's rebellion had been crushed. I had become a friend with a person in prison who formed a group of super villains, which I joined. I got captured again and was imprisoned in a more horrible intergalactic prison. It is from there I escaped. I stole this time bubble and came here. A lot has happened to me and I now know that my actions were horrible. I am very ashamed of what I have done and am planning to return to my time and turn myself in to the authorities. I am reformed and wish to do what is right. It is the only way I can get my honor and self-respect back."

Forge was astounded by Lalo's story. At the same time, he realized that he respected the fact that the Imskian was able to tell him the truth. "Is there anything I can do to help you, Lalo? After all you helped me restore my friends to normal. I believe that you have reformed because you could have easily destroyed my friends and me but did not. Perhaps we should talk to my friends; they may be able to help as well." At that moment Forge's cell phone rang.

In the thirty first century, Super Boy, Super Girl, Light Lass and Shrinking Violet were preparing for their trip to Bayville in the 21st century. Braniac 5 knocked on Super Girl's door. "Kara, I have examined the time period you are going to. This is a time and area of extreme Anti-Mutant hysteria. Some of that hatred may also extend to people who may also be characterized as mutants even though they are technically aliens. I want you to take my new and improved force field belt. It can be used to protect a whole city if necessary. It works the same as the one you used to use. If you want to widen the field, you just turn this purple knob to the right. Left reduces the field. Any questions?"

Kara looked at her boyfriend. "Thank You, Querl. From what Scarlett told us, I hope you have another one because the Legion may also need it. In fact, it might be a good idea to activate it now. I have a bad feeling about this battle we are getting ready to fight."

Querl (AKA Braniac 5) said, "So do I, love. Yes, I do have one. I am currently wearing it. There is also a cloaking program, which may be used to hide the belt." He showed her how to activate the cloaking program after putting it around her waist. "Please be careful, love and hurry back." He kissed her and then left the room.

In another room, Saturn Girl was talking to Scarlett. "Scarlett, honey, we need to talk. You are our only source of information about this danger. I know that several of your ancestors were involved in the battle. What can you tell me about them?"

Scarlett began her story. "A whole bunch of them were a part of it. Actually, they weren't even all on the good side. Apocalypse actually took over two of them and forced them to work for him. He kinda boosted their powers. Magneto could control magnetism and poles and stuff like that. And Mystique was a shape shifter. But she was a trained assassin too. It was really scary times when Apocalypse had them at his disposal. They were mindless violent killing machines. They didn't even hesitate to attack their own children who were fighting for the human race.'

Saturn Girl nodded. She almost didn't want to press the issue further but she needed details only a mutant could give. "What can you tell me about the others? Their children and the others who were fighting?"

Scarlet smiled. "I think their kids were the coolest of the x-men. But I might be, like, a little biased." She smiled and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Nightcrawler, or Kurt, was a teleporter. He was born looking like a demon, blue and fuzzy with a tail and only six fingers and pointy ears. I already told you about Rogue. She was able to absorb a person's life force, memories, and physical abilities with a single touch. Like me, only hers knocked out the other person because she couldn't control it. She's the one who retrapped Apocalypse. She had a good heart even if she did border slightly on insanity due to the imprints of everyone she'd absorbed in the past. She knew that if Apocalypse managed to force all non-mutants to mutate nearly all of them would die." Scarlett sighed and looked edgy about that fact.

"Wanda was my favorite. She was the one who I took my mutant name from. She could alter probability at will with her chaos magic. She had every reason not to even fight in the battle; her father ditched her in an asylum when she was a kid. Then he wiped her memories so she wouldn't remember but when the x-men appeared at the door of the Bayville Brotherhood Boarding House, she came with them to fight the super mutant, and her own father directly, even though her friends and brother flat refused at first. And her twin brother Pietro, who called himself Quicksilver, was there too. I doubt I have to explain his power after giving his codename." The young girl chuckled,

"With a name like that I would presume either something to do with poison or speed."

"Super speed." Scarlett agreed. "He was pretty fast. He's the one my family descended from most. He was kind of a jerk as a kid, and when he was young he made some pretty dumb choices one of which was getting involved with some inhuman princess named Crystalia Amaquelin. But I guess we can't really choose whom we're related to." The girl shrugged with a hint of distaste in her voice and a wrinkle in her nose. "But anyway, everyone else who fought was a mutant with powers all along the chart from telepathy to geophysical manipulation and fire control to ice control. They had to battle with him but also four of their parents and mentors as well. They were the four horsemen of Apocalypse. Pain, Pestilence, Famine, and Death. I don't know exactly who was which."

"One of those mutants was a girl named Jean Grey. During the fight the Phoenix force affected her. And shortly after the mutant victory she went totally psychotic and tried to take over the universe. The dude she loved managed to talk her down, but in the time the others are going to, I don't really know if it happened yet. Everyone who goes back should be real careful. Several of her friends paid the ultimate price for her to be brought back to normal."

As the young girl finished her tale with a somber expression, Saturn girl nodded gravely. "That could definitely prove to be an issue. Thank you for telling me that. I will notify Mon-el and the others post haste."

The two sat in a moment's silence until Saturn Girl noticed one detail. Scarlett possessed all of her ancestors' powers except for one. "Um, Scarlet, do you have the power of Chaos Magic as well as those you have already disclosed to us?"

"Man, that woulda been so cool. I wish I did. No, I don't, but I'm happy with the powers I have. It's rare for a mutant to get more than one or two." The girl smiled ruefully.

Saturn Girl was struck by a thought. "Would Apocalypse be likely to use those same four horsemen in another battle?" She asked.

"No, they were released from his power when Apocalypse was defeated. Eventually they became productive mutants in society. Apocalypse takes his victims where he finds them. I would believe he would try to capture powerful people, most likely mutants to serve as his four horsemen. He may already have them in place."

"Why would he be coming here, Scarlett? Do you know?"

'I wish I knew Saturn Girl. I would guess that he does not know about the Legion or if he does, then he believes himself to be so powerful that he can not be stopped. Or maybe he still wants his old dream of mutant domination. He waited 5,000 years the first time, what are another few years?"

"Would he be likely to partner with another powerful villain such as Mordru or The Time Trapper?" Saturn Girl asked.

"From what I have read and been told, Apocalypse does not like to share power or take orders from anyone. Especially non-mutants. I have never thought about that possibility, though. That is scary if either of those two were to be involved."

Saturn Girl decided to talk to Mon-El about the new information. The other Legionnaires needed to know what they were going to be up against. She had also decided that She and Scarlett should accompany the others on the time mission. "Excuse me, Scarlett. I need to go talk to Mon-El. The information you have just told me needs to be shared. Would you care to join me?"

Scarlett and Saturn Girl left the room and went to find Mon-El. He was in the main meeting hall talking to Super Boy about the mission. "May I interrupt Mon-El?" Saturn Girl asked. Scarlett and I have been talking about our new foe. This guy is bad news. The thought has occurred to me that he could also be working with The Time Trapper or Mordru but according to Scarlett, he does not like to share power or take orders. There is also a matter of a mutant called The Phoenix who evolved from an X-Man named Jean Gray. This mutant is very powerful and you may meet her in the 21st century. We don't know if she has gone over to the dark side yet in the time period that our team is going to."

"That is very interesting, Imra. What is the nature of the Phoenix's powers, Scarlett?" Mon-El asked.

"She started out as a powerful telepath, sir. In the battle with Apocalypse, her powers evolved. She became a more powerful telepath and she can project mental force beams with devastating effects. She could level entire cities with a mere thought. I do know that she eventually did battle with the X-Men herself. Many of her former colleagues paid the ultimate sacrifice to stop her."

Superbly gulped. "Mon, maybe Saturn Girl should go back too. Another telepath might be useful in case of a problem with this girl."

"I believe Scarlett should also go," Saturn Girl said. "We may have need of her abilities as well. This could be her initiation test; Mon-El." Saturn Girl noticed a sly smile cross Scarlett's face. The young girl looked excited and hopeful but tried to maintain her composure.

Mon-El looked at the young girl. He thought a bit and decided that they were right. "Saturn Girl, I am allowing both of you to go. I need you to try not to corrupt the time stream too badly, but we are going to need help. This is a very dangerous turn of events. I sincerely hope that neither Mordru nor the Time Trapper is involved with this guy. I am not sure if even the Legion would be able to survive such a confrontation."

Saturn Girl and Scarlett both left the room. "We'll see you in the monitor room, Super Boy," they said.

At the Xavier Institute, the x-jet was coming in for a landing. Professor X, Logan, Storm and Beast were back home. As they disembarked, Professor X sensed something was wrong. He had had an uneasy feeling the entire flight across the Atlantic. He also picked up what he perceived as a new mutant in Bayville. As they had come back earlier than planned, the kids still had a few days left at their camps. The adults decided to walk around the grounds a bit before coming into the mansion. It felt good to be home.

Rogue was looking out the window and saw the group of adults even though they were not really close to the mansion. She blinked. Was this another premonition or did she actually see them. Ever since her encounter with Carol Danvers, she had been experiencing a sense of some sort of long-distance vision. She had not ever been able to verify what she had seen until now. She turned and looked in the direction of the airplane hangar. Rogue was surprised to see the Blackbird parked in the hangar. Now she knew the adults were home. Making her way downstairs, she found Wanda and Lance talking in the kitchen. Lance was getting ready to call the professor on the phone.

Pietro smirked and clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Hey-Avalanche, chill. You-don't-need-to-call. We-won't-get-in-any-trouble. Baldy-doesn't-need-to-know. Our-troubles-are-over."

"Correction." Rogue ran over. "Weh all in some deep soup. The adults are-"

At that moment they heard a key turning in the lock. The four teens cast weary eyes around the rec room. Baby toys and necessities littered the floor. The playpen was still set up in front of the TV. A couple sippi-cups were scattered around. A pink baby blanket was draped over the couch. All of them knew the kitchen was worse off, with dirty dishes and baby food all over the place. And the danger and planning rooms with beds toys and TVs helter skelter was no better.

"Home." Rogue sighed in defeat as the door opened.

Storm entered gracefully, fully anticipating the remnants of a wild party. She got two steps into the room and stopped short, causing Beast to accidentally walk straight into her.  
"My stars and Garters!" Mr. McCoy gasped and blinked rubbing his eyes.

"Oh c'mon you sissies. I told you there would be chaos when we got home. Step aside and lemme deal with them."

Logan rudely pushed past his colleagues and his jaw dropped in disbelief. It would have been comical had the kids not been expecting berserker rage from the Wolverine.

"The Hell'd you kids do?" He gaped thunderstruck. In addition to the baby junk lying around, his animal senses picked up scents that definitely didn't belong in a mansion of teenagers. Diapers, baby food, the sour smell of spit up, it didn't add up.

"Logan, they are merely teenagers." Professor X chuckled merrily. "Don't be too hard on them." He wheeled in and he too did a double take.

Rogue gulped and tried to slowly back out, sensing trouble.

"What in the entire universe did you children do while we were gone?" Beast asked in awe.

As Rogue sped up hoping to escape notice she backed straight into Remy. For some reason the force was enough to knock him over and as she was startled by it, she lost her balance and toppled right after him.

"Oof" He gasped feeling winded.

"Heavens! Are you two all right?" Storm gasped.

"Ouais." Remy winced. "Chérie, y' bin puttin' on some weight?"

She gave him a disgusted glare and was about to retort but the professor cut her off.

"Why aren't you two at the poetry and drama camp?"

"Yeah about that..." Lance gulped guiltily. "There was this little issue..."

The attention turned to him. He fidgeted nervously.

"Oh this oughtta be good." Logan crossed his arms over his chest with a look suggesting he wasn't going to accept anything Lance said.

Lance swallowed. He vaguely resembled a small fuzzy animal that was trapped and knew very well that his own death was imminent. "Well, you see...uh..."

Lance gulped again. Wanda looked fidgety too. Pietro couldn't stand the tension and zipped off.

At that moment the door opened again. Forge stood there grinning sheepishly. "Um Lance, I think I might've left the- Oh hi... Um Professor Xavier sir."

"I think that Forge can explain better than we can," Wanda pointed, to get the responsibility of the story off the shoulders of the kids.

"Oh? Forge, do you know what has been going on here?" The professor raised an eyebrow toward the time suspended mutant.

"Uh yeah...You see, I had this prototype for an invention. And it worked perfectly well when I tested it on some lab animals and me. But when I demonstrated it on some of the kids here something with the time control mechanism went wrong and instead of sending them back in time the desired fifteen years, it physically de-aged them." Forge gulped nervously as this knowledge sank into the adults' heads.

"Let me get this straight, You're tellin' me you used these kids as guinea pigs and somehow managed to make every danged one get fifteen years younger?" Logan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes sir." Forge gulped.

"And that's how yer explaining all the baby crap?" He asked clearly amused.

"Uh huh." Lance nodded.

"Who was involved?" Professor Xavier frowned in concern.

"Gambit, Rogue, Scott, Jean, Boom Boom, Kurt, Blob, Kitty, Pyro, Iceman, Magma and Toad were the de-aged." Forge explained. "Lance and the others took care of them while I tried to fix the problem. My new friend Lalo helped me figure out what went wrong."

Professor X immediately shifted his attention to Lalo. "Hello, you are new around here aren't you?"

Forge looked at Lalo and then the Professor. "Oh, where are my manners? Professor X, Ms. Monroe, Dr. McCoy, Logan, this is my friend, Lalo Muldoon. He is a traveler from a distant land," said Forge.

"Where are you from, Lalo?" Asked Ororo.

"I am from Imsk, Ms Monroe. It is a planet about 25,000 light years from earth. I am also a visitor from the future, the 31st century to be exact." Lalo explained.

Professor X studied the young man before him. He was contemplating whether the boy was sane or not. "Really, Lalo?" He asked. "I've never heard of any planet by that name...Yet I believe I sensed you a while ago using some sort of a special ability. Are you a mutant?"

Lalo smiled. He could see that Professor X was trying to determine if he was telling the truth. "I really am an alien, sir. I would probably be considered a mutant here on earth because I can shrink myself really tiny, actually to microscopic size. He promptly shrank himself and then resumed his full height. "My planet is Imsk. All of my people can do this."

Just then the phone rang. "Hello, Xavier Institute for Gifted Students, this is Ororo Monroe speaking." Ororo grabbed the phone, as she was closest.

"Hello, Storm. This is Dr. Worthington. I presume you and your colleagues are home. I trust your trip was pleasant?"

"Oh yes, may I ask why you are calling Warren?"

"I'm calling from Bayville General Hospital concerning the young woman who was knocked into a coma by Marie's powers." Storm's eyes widened in alarm. Seeing this Logan pounded the speakerphone key.

"What happened?" Logan snarled.

"Marie had a bit of an incident at the local poolside and a lifeguard named Carol Danvers was exposed to her powers. She fell into an immediate coma and the only activity we have from her is that she tried to channel control of three year old Marie's body."

"Who the hell is Marie?" Logan snapped, bewildered.

Rogue clapped a hand to her mouth.

"Marie Anna Darkeholme was what young Lance registered her as." Warren sounded confused.

"There's no Marie here." Ororo frowned in mild confusion. "I believe you may be mistaken Dr Worthington."

"No, there's no mistake. Dr. Shock distinctly heard the young girl address herself that way in an earlier incident involving a young boy getting injured."

Storm was about to tell the man on the other line once again that there must be some mistake but Rogue spoke up. "Um Ororo, that's mah name."

Every eye in the room turned to settle on her. She fidgeted uncomfortably. "Um sorry Warren, yeah we found your Marie. Now what happened?"

"We have a young woman who was exposed to powers quite similar to Rogue's. Her name is Carol Danvers and she is currently in a coma. However we encountered a couple issues with her. She appears to be a mutant whom we cannot run any tests on. We can't draw blood as needles break upon touching her skin."

"All right, that sounds serious Warren," Professor Xavier spoke up grimly. "You'd better bring her over. Perhaps Hank and I can address the problem. In the meantime I have a matter to address with my students. I will see you when you arrive."

"Thank you sir." Both parties hung up. All the adults turned to the students who were in the room. A few of the others had wandered in and sensing trouble had summoned the others.

The ones who'd been caretakers of the toddlers all burst into immediate explanations and apologies while the twelve former mini mutants settled for looking mildly confused.

Remy was examining a tight cast on his arm that felt like it was cutting his circulation. "Remy no sure he wanna know what 'appened."

"Oh you were climbing playpen walls." Wanda smiled in mild amusement at the memory. "You swore while repeating Spyke, blew up a bottle of shampoo, then fell off a playpen wall breaking your arm."

"Whoa Gambit sounds like you were quite a hellion." Tabitha chuckled.

"If he was a hellion what on earth would that make you?" Lance rolled his eyes. "You were the one who knocked him off the wall. Throwing things, crying, annoying everyone, Tabby you are the definition of terrible two's. Thanks to you and the rest, I do not think I ever want to see another kid, for the rest of my life."

Lance held his head in his hands and avoided eye contact with Kitty very deliberately.

"Students please! We have a lot to talk about I can tell. But could somebody please inform me of what happened involving Rogue's powers?"

"Well, we took all the little kids to the pool. We tried to make sure that we kept an eye on them but there were twelve of them and not enough of us to rally that many wild toddlers." Lance began.

"Amanda, Piotr, and I had all the littlest ones in the fenced in kiddie pool." Wanda explained. "And Lance took the four oldest to the deeper water. He was watching them for a while but..." She trailed off and frowned in Lance's direction indicating he could explain his own problem.

"But I um...got a little distracted." Lance's ears flushed red as he thought about what had happened just a short time earlier involving Carmen.

"What could be more important than the welfare of several small children?" Storm frowned.

Lance gulped and shot a sidelong glance at Kitty. "Well, there was this...this..." He swallowed hard and tried again. "I didn't mean to...honest...but..."  
Wanda rolled her eyes. He looked like he was drowning. So she picked up the rest of the story. "There was this little Spanish...well I don't know how to say it politely. She's a...well you could call her a garden implement if you get what I mean." She scowled at the memory of the girl.

Everyone caught the meaning and looked at Lance in shock and disbelief. Pietro, yeah sure, they expected it from him. He was into that type himself, partially because he was the male equivalent. But Lance? Who had worked so hard to make his relationship with sweet little Kitty work out?

Kitty's own gaze on him was full of hurt and confusion. It was painful to her that while she'd been out of the picture, her boyfriend had been distracted from watching four little kids by somebody like what Wanda described. "Lance? Is it true?" She asked softly, voice trembling slightly. Logan snarled and the distinct sound of six metal claws erupting from his knuckles echoed through the now silent room.

Lance looked horrified. "Wait Kitty no! I mean, I didn't mean for it to happen, she did this weird thing and I couldn't-"

Kitty narrowed her eyes not liking where this was going. Not liking this one little bit. "What happened Lance?"

"I-She kissed me and I didn't want her to but she did and I felt really sick and dizzy and fuzzed out and-"

Kitty held up a hand looking like she was trying to silence him. He relaxed for a moment until she slapped him. While her mouth was set into an angry scowl her eyes were watery and when she spoke her voice shook. "I don't want to hear it. Really I don't. If you want to go be with some slutty little tramp, go right ahead. I, like, don't care. Just go. Leave me alone." She turned as if to head up to her room. She started walking very fast but Wanda caught her arm.

"Wait Kitty, it's not his fault. She did something to him and he was almost hypnotized or something. He didn't want to, really."

Kitty phased her arm free. "Like, let me go! I don't care what you or Lance or anyone says right now."

"What if I told you he ruined her plan by saying how much he loves you?" Wanda tried desperately.

Kitty's eyes flickered. "Like, really?" She tilted her head to the side and looked at Lance. "But he still kissed her."

"No she kissed him." Wanda corrected.

"Kit, I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to..." Lance murmured pleadingly.

"How am I supposed to be reacting to this?" She sighed. "This is too weird."

"Kitty, I scanned his mind and from what his subconscious gathered, this Carmen's hold over him was an odd mutant power. So there is no real harm done, correct? Logan, kindly put those claws away. There is no need to disembowel Mr. Alvers. Now Wanda, please explain the rest of what happened."

Wanda filled the adults minus Hank who was down in the infirmary prepping for Carol Danvers' arrival of the incident at the poolside.

"I see," Xavier frowned in thought. "So Rogue absorbed this lifeguard and threw her into a coma. And-"

"She is in mah haid, drahvin meh crazy," Rogue interrupted. Sheepishly she smiled and rubbed her temples. "She's puttin' up mo'v a fight than anyone else eva has. She's drivin meh nuts an' givin meh a killa headache."

Professor X quickly probed each of the storytellers' minds and discovered that each was telling the truth, including the visitor, Lalo. "Well, strange as your tales are, I believe you. It is too strange for you to make up such a wild story."

Just then a strange glowing sphere started to descend into the room. Immediately, Logan released his adamantium claws, preparing for battle. Lalo turned pale as he recognized the sphere. It was a Legion time bubble. He immediately began to shrink down to microscopic size. While he was prepared to go back to his time and turn himself in, he did not feel that this was the proper time for a confrontation with the Legion. When the bubble was fully materialized, a door opened. The first one out of the time bubble was Shrinking Violet. She was followed by Super Girl, Saturn Girl, Super Boy, Light Lass and finally, Scarlett Maximoff.

"Greetings from the 31st Century. We are looking for Professor Charles Xavier," Super Girl said. Seeing Logan with his adamantium claws outstretched, Super Boy and Super Girl immediately stepped in front of their fellow legionnaires. "We come in peace; we don't want any trouble," said Super Girl

Professor X wheeled himself in front of the group. "Logan, relax. "Let us find out about our guests without slicing them to ribbons first. I am Professor Xavier. What brings you to the Xavier Institute for Gifted Students?"

"We are members of the Legion of Superheroes. Our group is composed of people from many different planets as well as mutants from earth. We understand your institute is for the training and education of mutants. We are from the 31st century as we said before. We came here because one of your enemies has appeared in our time. We need your help."

"Who would you need our help for?" Rogue asked.

"His name is Apocalypse," said Scarlett. "He has appeared in our century and is less than one day from Metropolis, our home."

When she said this, everyone in the room got very quiet. All of the mutants were remembering their recent battle with the super mutant. Rogue cleared her throat. "Ahem, do we really want to deal with him again. He ain't very nice. Ah'd rather take on ol bucket head any day o' any week."

"Now, Now, Rogue. Let us not be rude," Professor X thought projected sternly to his pupil.

Unbeknownst to Professor X, Saturn Girl also received the message. She then projected thoughts into each of the Legionnaires to be wary of the one called Rogue; She was especially concerned about Scarlett, Rogue's descendant. Professor X also heard the admonition from Saturn Girl. 'Ah,' he thought, 'One of them is a telepath. This may be very interesting.' "Before we can help you, I would like to know whom I am dealing with." He said.

Super Girl began to introduce her Fellow Legionnaires. "This is my cousin, Super Boy, Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet, Light Lass, and The Scarlett Witch. I am Super Girl"

An audible gasp came from Wanda. She looked at the young girl who was dressed eerily like her. Both Girls wore red trench coats and Black Pants with Red sweaters. Scarlett blushed. She realized that she was in the presence of two of her ancestors, the two she admired the most.

Just then, Dr. Worthington flew into the room. Dr. Shock and Lorna Dane followed him. They were carrying a stretcher. On this stretcher was the young "mutant", Carol Danvers. This time there was an audible gasp from Super Boy and Super Girl. The legionnaires all looked at one another. Carol Danvers looked exactly like Super Girl.

Dr. Worthington looked at his patient and at Super Girl. "Do you know this girl?" He asked.

Super Girl was flabbergasted. "I have never seen her before in my life."

"The resemblance is uncanny, cousin, said Super Boy.

"Is this the mutant you were telling me about, Dr. Worthington?" Professor Xavier asked. Without waiting for an answer, he directed Logan and Dr. McCoy to take the comatose girl to the infirmary. Quickly, the two brought her down to the medical wing of the mansion. Dr. McCoy began hooking up his equipment. He was able to get the heart monitor and brain monitor to work on his unconscious patient. However, when he went to start an IV, the needle broke. It would not go into her arm. He looked at her heart patterns and brain waves. There was something strange about the patterns. "Oh my Stars and Garters!" He exclaimed loudly. "I don't believe this girl is a normal mutant. I am not sure that she is human."

Super Girl and Super Boy had followed the group down to the infirmary. Super Girl used her x-ray vision on Carol Danvers. "That is because she isn't. She is Kryptonian."

****

Well, what do you think? Be sure to read and review, please, before you leave.


	7. Help Wanted

**__**

Last time on X-Men Evolution: "...this is a time bubble," Lalo explained. "Kara, I have examined the time period. This is a time and area of antimutant hysteria...I want you to take my new and improved Force Field belt" "...You're right, Saturn Girl. Several of my ancestors were involved" "I think Scarlett should also go" "She is Kryptonian."

CHAPTER SEVEN

__

HELP WANTED

"Are you sure, Super Girl?" Asked Light Lass.

"Yes, Light Lass. Her physiology is **_exactly_** like mine." Super Girl replied. "She is definitely Kryptonian. Which is interesting. She should be invulnerable to harm."

"Well, the invulnerable part is right. At least, physically." Dr. Worthington said. "We could not insert a needle into her arm to do an IV."

"How did she become unconscious?" Super Boy asked. "Perhaps that may help us"

Dr. Worthington looked at the Boy of Steel quizzically. "There was some sort of accident at the swimming pool, yesterday. A young girl was pushed into the deep end when she could not swim. Ms. Danvers jumped in to save the girl. Unbeknownst to her, the girl has poison skin and can not come into skin to skin contact or the person she touches is rendered unconscious. Ms Danvers was in contact with the girl for several minutes."

Dr. McCoy looked at Super Girl and Super Boy. "Do either of you have any idea how we can help her?" He asked hopefully.

"When I scanned her with my x-ray vision, there did not appear to be any physical damage to her body. I did not see any brain damage but we have to believe that there is some due to the fact that she is in a coma," Super Girl replied. "I believe there may be a way to help her."

At this point, Rogue walked into the room. "I was the young girl who was pushed into the pool," she announced. Rogue then explained the events of the past few days. "Puhhaps, The Professor can get into heh haid and find out what is wrong. Mebbe, even wake her up," Rogue said hopefully.

The infirmary was beginning to get crowded as more people began to move into the room. At this point, Dr. McCoy sent them all out of the room. "I'll get her comfortable and then I'll be able to join you. We can discuss this further." As everybody left the infirmary, Beast put a couple of blankets over the girl and another pillow under her head. It was all he could do for now. Then he turned up the thermostat a bit and turned out the lights. "Good night, Miss Danvers," he said.

Dr. McCoy went up the stairs and joined the others. He was curious about the legionnaires and their mission. The only thing he knew was that Apocalypse was involved. "This would be a dangerous time for both the present and future, " he thought.

When he got upstairs, Professor X called the entire team to meet the legionnaires. "This is my team," he said. "Boom-Boom, Night Crawler, Colossus, Gambit, Blob, Wolverine, Rogue, Shadow Kat, Toad, Magma, Pyro, Avalanche, Our Own Scarlet Witch, Storm, Beast, Cyclops, Spyke, and Jean Grey. There are several others but they are not here at the moment. Each of the legionnaires re introduced themselves to the X-Men.

"Super Girl," Dr. McCoy called out. "I am curious, how did you know that Carol Danvers is a Kryptonian?"

Super Girl looked at the man called Beast. "Because," she answered. "I am from Krypton, as is Super Boy."

"Where is Krypton in relation to Earth?" Asked Storm.

"Unfortunately, my planet no longer exists. It exploded about 18 of your earth years ago. Until today, I thought only my cousin and I were left"

"Wow!" Exclaimed Bobby. "You two are really aliens?" He asked excitedly.

Super Girl smiled at the young mutant. "Yes, we are. As is Saturn Girl, Light Lass, and Shrinking Violet. Only our friend, the Scarlett Witch, is from Earth. She is a mutant, like you all."

Bobby could hardly contain himself. He must be dreaming. A few months ago, his beloved Boston red Sox had beaten the hated New York Yankees to win the American League Pennant in the biggest comeback of all time (or the worst choke job of all time, depending on your point of view-author's note) and had gone on to win the World Series, ending the curse :). And now he was in the presence of real life aliens; aliens who were superheroes to boot.

Cyclops looked at Saturn Girl. What is your power?" He asked.

Saturn Girl grinned as she replied. "I am a telepath, like Professor Xavier and your girlfriend, Jean Grey, Scott.

Dr. Worthington, looking a bit apprehensive, stared at Super Boy and Super Girl. "Is there any way to help the poor girl downstairs? You are both from her world," he said, sadly.

"It is possible," replied Super Girl. "Perhaps Saturn Girl could, along with Professor X and Jean Grey, look into her mind. Physically, she seemed fine but I don't know how rogue's powers worked."

"Sometimes, Ah wish they didn't work so well," Rogue said sadly. "It seems Ah have poison skin. If ah touch anyone my skin to theirs, their memories are absorbed along with their personality and any mutant abilities. If a person is a non-mutant, they usually end up in a coma. Mutants are knocked unconscious when I touch them," she said as tears welled up in her eyes.

"And since Carol Danvers is not a mutant but an alien, she is now comatose," noted Saturn Girl. Have you touched any other non-mutants?"

"Yeah," a visibly upset Rogue replied. "The very first time mah powers appeared. Ah was at a school dance with mah first boyfriend, Cody. We were kinda pushed into each other and there was a flash. He fell to the floor and was comatose for several days but he eventually came out of it. It changed both of us," she cried. "We broke up when he came out of the coma."

About that time, Saturn girl began to sense a growing angry mob outside the mansion. Professor X also sensed it. Just then, there was the sound of breaking glass from the street. Forge winced as he heard it. He knew his car and Dr. Worthington's van were the only vehicles outside. Neither car was likely to survive unscathed. Rogue had just finished telling her story when her eyes got as big as saucers. Her new vision power had kicked in again. "Excuse meh, but weh seem to have about a thousan people outside. They don't seem ta be too friendly," she said.

Super Boy and Super Girl both focused their x-ray vision on the front of the mansion. Both saw an angry mob destroying the two vehicles parked out front. Some of the gang was wearing armbands inscribed with a funny crest and the letters F. O. H. on them. All of a sudden a voice thundered over a megaphone. "All right, you filthy, rotten muties, Come on out." Another voce called out, "kill the mutants. All mutants must die."

Super Girl looked at Professor X. "What can we do to help the X-Men with this problem?" She asked.

Saturn Girl looked saddened by the sounds of the angry mob outside. She remembered a time in Legion history where the legionnaires were attacked by angry mobs. She knew that there was very little room to reason with these people and that violence was likely. People were going to get hurt. She also knew that Super Boy and Super Girl would do everything possible to avoid hurting the crowd. If their actions were viewed in any way as weakness, there was bound to be worse trouble.

"I think we should go out the back and circle around the crowd. Let's see if we can disperse them without getting anyone hurt," Super Boy suggested. "We should end up between the crowd and the cars or the gates to the mansion. Saturn Girl, the Professor, and Jean can use their telepathic abilities to try to calm the crowd. We'll try to keep the others inside unless absolutely necessary."

"That sounds like a good idea, Super Boy," Professor Xavier replied. "We definitely do not want to incite this crowd any further."

The two Kryptonians followed Shadow Kat to the back entrance of the institute. Once outside, they both flew high into the air and then flew around the grounds in opposite directions to the front of the mansion. As they got there, they saw the crowd turn over the little blue car in front of the gate. "Hey, what did that car do to you guys?" Super Boy wisecracked.

The mob stopped when they saw Super Boy and Super girl in front of them. "Get out of our way," one person shouted. "Those mutant scums doesn't deserve your protection. This car belongs to one of those mutants and we will destroy it like we're gonna destroy them useless muties."

"And you know that for a fact?" Asked the girl of steel. "That van you trashed happens to belong to a doctor who is here on an emergency. The blue car belongs to a scientist who is helping the doctor. Perhaps you would like to have a mob trashing your doctor's vehicle when he is helping you."

A voice rang out. "Mutants don't deserve doctors. They're vicious and evil"

"Really?" Asked Super Girl. "Do you hate everybody who is different? Take a look around you. Every one of you is different in some way. Some of you have blond hair and blue eyes. Others have black skin. You all wear different clothes. Some of you have multiple piercings in various parts of your anatomy. Others have red hair or are not born in America. We all have one thing in common: our humanity. Even the mutants you hate are humans. If every one of you were the same as everybody else, it would be boring. Also, who is to say that you are the only ones who are right and everyone else is wrong? Where do you get this crap? There is one thing you all should be aware of: All of those mutants in that building have already saved your miserable lives at least once. They did not hesitate to fight against one who would have not hesitated to destroy all of humanity in order to force you to become mutants and slaves to his will. And this is how you thank them? Attack them because they are not just like you? When each of you also is different from each other? Hypocrites. Just as you have no control over how each of you differs from the others, the mutants have no control over being mutants. They do not choose to be different from all of you. Most of them look at their abilities as a curse rather than a blessing and would gladly give them up to be considered 'normal'. Every one of you needs to look around you. Being different is not bad. Different is fun, exciting and all around you. Who knows, anyone of you may be carrying a latent hidden x-gene? Everyone is different in some way."

As Super girl finished her speech, she hovered in front of the crowd. The mob started to surge forward towards her. Super Boy closed ranks with his cousin. "You want to fight; you will have to go through us. Do you really want to take on people who can move planets with their bare hands?" He said, curtly. The crowd looked at Super boy and Super Girl who were hovering just in front of them. One by one, the mob began to drop their weapons, tools and signs and began to break up and disperse. Super Boy breathed a huge sigh of relief as the angry gang left. Once the area was cleared, Super Girl and Super Boy righted the overturned cars. They were a mess. Both super teens began moving like a blur. When they were done, all of the broken glass had been cleared and replaced and all of the dents and creases had been knocked out. Except for a few scratches, you could not tell the cars were nearly destroyed by a violent crowd.

Professor X had watched the whole scene. The cool heads of the two Kryptonian legionnaires and their willingness to help diffuse a hostile situation impressed him. He wondered if his team would have reacted as well. "Now that that little problem is resolved, let's go back inside and see what we can do for Carol Danvers," he said. "Oh and by the way, great job."

As they went inside, they heard some one scream, "Hey! Put me down." Upon arriving in the main sitting room, they found Cyclops floating in mid air. From the conversations going on in the room, it seems that he had been rude to Scarlett and Light Lass. Scarlett had chosen to ignore him, not wanting any trouble, but Light Lass had taken the opportunity to demonstrate her power on him. She had made him as light as the symbol feathers on her uniform. By reducing his body mass, she had caused him to float in the air. All of the x-men were roaring with laughter, even Jean. Scott was totally embarrassed. He thought about opening his visor and blasting his way down, when he saw the professor enter the room. With a grin, Light Lass slowly lowered him back to the floor. "Don't be rude, Cyclops, lest you find yourself floating again.

"I'll find out later what that is about," Professor X said, shaking his head. "I would like to check on Ms. Danvers. Jean, Saturn Girl, Rogue, Super Girl and Super Boy, would you care to join me in the infirmary?" As they all went down the elevator with the Professor, Dr. McCoy and Scarlett joined them as well.

After they had all left, there was a knock on the door. Wanda went to answer it. When she opened the door, she found Pietro and Carmen joined together at the lips. "Pietro! What are you doing with this..." She exclaimed? "And why did you knock?"

Pietro and Carmen quickly broke apart. "Hi to you too, sis. I um uh forgot my key," he replied, blushing as red as Wanda's trench coat. "This is Carmen by the way."

Unfortunately, we have already met," Wanda replied with disgust

"Actually, I came over here to find out about my friend, Carol," Carmen said icily. Missing the way Pietro referred to Wanda as sis, Carmen decided to tease the young Goth witch before her. "Boy, you sure do get around."

Wanda scowled at Carmen's suggestion. "He is my brother you idiot. And you should talkWhat is this, like five guys in two days? You belong in the tool shed by the rakes and shovels"

Pietro interjected himself between the two girls. "Carmen, you think Wanda and me... Oh, gross! She is my sister for crying out loud."

Carmen blushed as she realized her mistake. "Where's Carol?" She asked timidly. "At the hospital, they told me she was here."

"Your friend is in the infirmary," replied Wanda. "Oh, and Pietro, behave. We have guests."

"Anyone I know?" Quipped the albino speedster.

"I rather seriously doubt it, brother. Just go into the main hall, Ill be there in a bit after I take Carmen to the infirmary to visit her friend" Wanda wondered if she should tell Pietro about Light Lass or the other Scarlet Witch. She decided to let him be surprised. He would find out soon enough about their guests.

Lalo wondered if he should increase his size and reveal himself to the legion. At the current time, he was resting on Forge's shoe. Because he had shrunk himself so tiny he was not aware of which legionnaires had come out of the time bubble. He was so tiny that he could not hear what was going on above him. At that moment, toad looked at Shrinking Violet. "Excuse me, Miss violet, do you have super powers too?" He asked.

Violet, who had been quietly studying the group, was startled by the young mutant's question. In truth, she had thinking about how good looking the Russian boy, Colossus was. In fact she had been daydreaming about him. She thought he was so cute. Um, yeah," she replied. "I can shrink myself to microscopic size. My specialty is working with the espionage squad."

Storm looked at Violet, puzzled. Something was strange here. "Where are you from, Violet?" She asked.

"My home planet is called Imsk. It is a tiny planet about 25,000 light years from Earth. All of our people have the ability to shrink super tiny. Our planet is unique in that it shrinks itself to microscopic size every 50 years or so. It used to do this at unpredictable times so our people evolved this ability in order to survive. Our scientists have found a way to regulate the planet's shrinking so that it only happens every 50 years."

As Storm heard Violet's story, she realized that Lalo was missing. 'Hadn't he said he was from Imsk as well?' She wondered. Did they know each other? Not seeing him, she decided not to raise the question. It was about to become a moot point anyway. Blob and Toad both thought Violet's power was so cool and the kept begging her to demonstrate it. Finally, Violet gave in. She walked over to where Toad was sitting.

"Would you like to see what it feels like to shrink to microscopic size?" Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed him out of his seat. "Hold on tight," she instructed the young mutant. Toad could not believe his luck. Here was this beautiful girl from the future telling him to put his arms around her and to hold on tightly to her. Suddenly, he was glad that he had just gotten out of the shower just prior to the Legion's appearance. As he put his arms around her, Violet pulled out a spray bottle and began spraying every inch of his clothes with it.

"What is that bottle for?" Toad asked innocently.

"This allows your clothes to shrink and expand with you. So they won't be ruined," Violet replied. When Violet was satisfied that he was completely covered, she grabbed his hands and began to shrink very rapidly. It was only a few seconds and they both disappeared completely from sight. A few moments later, they both seemingly rose out of the carpet. As they did, it became apparent that something was very wrong. Violet was as white as a sheet. She looked like she had seen a ghost. Toad, however, was grinning ear to ear. "That was some ride, sweetums, " using the pet name he often used on Wanda. Fortunately, she was not there to hear him or he might have been hexed across the room. Toad did not realize that Violet was crying as he leaned over and kissed her gently on the cheek.

Light Lass saw the tears running down her face and hurried over to her friend.

"Violet, what is wrong?" She asked. "Was shrinking with another adult too much for you?"

Violet was shaking uncontrollably and sobbing. "He can't be here, he can't be here," she kept repeating between sobs.

After a few moments, Light Lass was able to get her friend to calm down and quit shaking. She decided to use the telepathic communications system of their flight rings to find out what had happened. "Salu, who can't be here?" She asked.

"Ayla, it is terrible. Lalo Muldoon is here in this room."

"Micro Lad is here?" Light Lass projected.

"Yes, I saw him when I shrunk. He is really here, Ayla."

Lalo knew he was in trouble. The one Legionnaire he did not want to face at this time was here. He had felt the rush of air, which accompanied an Imskian who was shrinking. Violet had come down carrying on of the mutants in her arms. He had hoped that she would not see him but she had shrunk right in front of him and was looking right at his face. He saw her face go pale and then she had enlarged back to normal. He waited a few moments and decided to enlarge himself. Lalo knew it was going to get very uncomfortable and he realized that he had to get the problematic scene over with. Hopping off Forge's foot, Micro Lad began to enlarge. Soon he was standing before a very distressed Shrinking Violet.

Meanwhile, Carmen and Wanda had reached the infirmary. They had been silent the entire trip down stairs. Carmen gasped when she saw her friend. Carol was hooked up to so many machines; she looked like a giant squid was trying to devour her. As they entered the infirmary, they noticed Professor Xavier, Jean Gray, and Saturn Girl were all touching Carol's head. Their eyes were all closed. Beast was watching the array of monitors to see if anything was changing. Carmen also noticed the grown up Rogue. She looked exactly like the little girl from the hospital. Carmen was confused. "Was this the little girl's mother?" She wondered. "Where was the little girl from the hospital?" She also noticed three others standing off to the side. Super Girl and Super Boy and Scarlett seemed to be conversing among themselves. There was very little else they could do at this time.

After a few moments, Professor X and Jean Gray opened their eyes. "It appears that Saturn Girl was able to get into her mind." The Professor said. He and Jean then projected their mental abilities into Saturn Girl in order to assist her in the delicate task at hand. Saturn Girl traced the mental synapses in Carol's brain. She was thankful that the professor and Jean had given up trying to get into Carol's mind and were now reinforcing her efforts. After a few moments, she was able to reach Carol's subconscious level. Here she found the young Kryptonian's memories about the incident. Upon examining the memories, she concluded that the girl was in a state of psychic shock. She felt an involuntary shudder from the girl. "It's okay, Carol. I'm just here to help you. Relax, you are all right." She felt the girl's mind relax. As Saturn Girl probed deeper into the girl's subconscious mind, she discovered a long repressed memory. A memory of a very young girl being put is a small rocket and being launched into space. Realizing what she was seeing, Saturn Girl searched for a clue as to what Kryptonian City she had been launched from. Suddenly Saturn Girl saw a space ship over the city. A ray came down just as the ship was launched. The young girl was horrified to see her whole home city being ripped from Krypton and brought to the spaceship above, shrinking as it went. The next memory Saturn Girl saw was apparently the next day. The girl's rocket was drifting in space and had turned to face Krypton just as it exploded. Saturn Girl felt a shudder go through the unconscious girl and saw her sobbing in the memory. All of a sudden, there seemed to be a lot activity going on in Carol's brain. Saturn Girl said to her: "I am leaving now, Carol. You need to wake up. It's going to be all right now." Slowly, so as to not shock the girl any further, Saturn girl retreated from Carol's mind. A few seconds later Saturn girl opened her eyes. "It is done," she said.

Dr. McCoy had been watching the monitors very closely. As Saturn Girl opened her eyes, he noticed an increase in Carol's brain and body activity. "Good news," he said. "It appears that..."

"She is waking up!" Rogue exclaimed excitedly as she saw the girl's eyes open.

Carol blinked her eyes. Where am I?" She asked. "And why am I being restrained? What are all of these wires?"

"Whoa, please, Miss Danvers. You've been unconscious for a couple of days. You are at the Xavier Institute for Gifted Students," Beast replied. "I am Dr. McCoy. This is Dr. Shock, Dr. Worthington, Nurse Lorna Dane, and Professor Xavier," he said, pointing to each of the adults as he introduced them. "Now, I am going to ask you a question. Do you remember what happened to you?"

Carol took a deep breath. " I remember being at the pool. I was working at the deep end that day. There was an argument between a boy and a girl. Then I heard a splash and I saw a young girl in the water. It seemed to me that she could not swim. I dove in and rescued her. When I got her out of the pool, I felt like a surging, shocking feeling and then I blacked out. And Now I wake up here. It seems I also remember hearing a voice just before I woke up. It was like someone was inside my head talking to me."

As she talked, Dr. McCoy was monitoring her brain activity. Everything seemed to be stabilizing. When he realized that she seemed to be returning to a normal cognitive state and was not going to pass out on him, he turned off some of the monitors and began to unhook her. "Lay back down, please Miss Danvers. I am going to remove these wires from you."

All of a sudden the sounds of a girl crying could be heard. Carmen wiped the tears from her face and came up to her friend. "I'm so glad that you are all right, Carol," She said with a smile, as Dr. McCoy removed the last wire from Carol's body. Saturn Girl watched the two mutant girls for a few minutes. It seemed that the pair was very close. Then she went over to Rogue. "Rogue are you all right?" She asked.

Rogue was surprised to see the concerned look on Saturn Girl's face. "Yeah, Ah is ok. It seems like Carol is not trying to take ovah mah mind as much now."

"Do you have control over your powers, Rogue?"

"Ya know, it's kinda funny. Ah can absorb some one else's powahs and use them like ah've had them all mah life without a problem. Th' only one Ah can't control is mah own. It's so durn frustratin because Ah can't get close ta anyone. Often, Ah has to fight off all these personalities of pepple Ah've touched."

"Maybe I can help you get control, Rogue. Will you let me try?" Saturn Girl asked.

Rogue blinked. Could she be dreaming? This girl was actually offering to help her get control of her powers. She was not used to this much kindness and concern over her well being. Or perhaps, she had never noticed it before. Rogue was pretty untrusting of most people, but here she was considering allowing a total stranger from another time to go into her mind. She knew it would not be easy. Professor Xavier had told her that her mind was very busy.

Saturn girl could see the struggle going on within Rogue's brain. She decided to give the young Goth girl some space. "Think about it a bit, Rogue, and you can let me know what you think."

Just then, there was a loud scream from upstairs. Super Boy, Super Girl and Scarlett quit talking and started for the door. Saturn Girl and Rogue moved right behind them. Finally the Professor and Jean followed. Dr. McCoy was busily examining the equipment and shutting it down. Carmen handed Carol a bag of clothes she had brought with her. Dr. McCoy pointed to a screened off area and said: "you can change over there, Miss Danvers. It appears that you won't need to stay down here any longer. We would like to talk to you before you leave, though."

While Carol was changing, Carmen helped Dr. McCoy shut down the rest of the equipment. Dr. Worthington and Nurse Dane gathered up their stuff and prepared to go back to the hospital.

Once the group from downstairs arrived upstairs, they found Storm and Wolverine standing between Lalo and Forge on one side and Light Lass and Shrinking Violet on the other. Violet was sobbing uncontrollably. She thought she had become stronger since her last encounter with Micro Lad, but she could not control herself in his presence. Scarlett went over to her friend. "Is there anything I can do, Violet?" She asked with concern. It took a few minutes but Violet finally calmed down. Light Lass' eyes were flashing angrily at Micro Lad. Suddenly, there were lightning bolts flashing from her fingers. Light Lass was becoming Lightning Lass once more.

Once everyone calmed down and order was restored, Lalo looked at Shrinking Violet. "I am so sorry, Violet. I am sorry to meet you again under these circumstances and I am very sorry for what I did to you. What I did to you before was so wrong. I should never have kidnapped you and put you in the Sensory Deprivation tank. I have had a lot of time to think while I was imprisoned. I know my actions were so awful. My hope is that someday, you will be able to forgive me. I also owe major apologies to your fellow legionnaires for my actions. I will not make any excuses for my past behavior except to say I know what I did was wrong on so may levels. All I want to do now is to become a productive member of society. I am in this time period because I escaped from prison and after securing a time bubble, I came here. I was able to help Forge to restore his friends back to normal. When we leave here, I am going back to the 31st century and turn myself in to the authorities."

While he was busy apologizing, Saturn Girl probed his mind to see if he was being sincere. She found him to be telling the truth and was being sincere in his apology. Professor X had also seen that he was being truthful. "I realize that it is not my place to interfere," said the Professor, "but might he be helpful in your battle with Apocalypse?" It is my experience that you will need all the help that you can get in this battle."

"Speaking of which, that is the reason we are here. We need your help as well," Super Girl said. "What can you tell us about Apocalypse?"

"His real name is En Somma Nour. He first appeared in Ancient Egypt. Apocalypse may have been the first recorded mutant in history. Essentially, he was very powerful and ambitious. It is my understanding that he attempted to oust a Pharaoh and may have succeeded but he was betrayed by one of his underlings who helped to imprison him," Professor Xavier explained. "When he appeared in our time, he utilized a mutant named Sinister to destroy the guardian, which kept him imprisoned, and to trick a couple of mutants into releasing him. He can absorb other mutant abilities and amplify them to an almost unlimited degree. He chose four of the most powerful mutants of our time to be his four horsemen. Magneto, Mystique, Storm and myself were the four chosen. It was a very tough battle. The only way I know to defeat him is to shut off all power surrounding him and then entomb him. If you can seal a container around him he becomes powerless. One word of caution. He can control any source of power and it makes him stronger. He is able to utilize and control any mutant abilities. What ever you do, don't let him touch you or get inside your heads to discover your weaknesses. One of his abilities by the way, is telepathy. My suggestion is for all of you to wear some kind of shielding helmet to prevent him from reading your minds."

"Wow, he is very powerful. Would you say he has magical abilities, sir?" Asked Shrinking Violet. She wondered if he was like their powerful foe, Mordru. It certainly seemed that way from what the Professor had just described.

"To my knowledge, he is not magical nor involved with any kind of sorcery," Xavier replied. The X-Men listened to the exchange, all the while wondering if this battle would involve any of them. None were particularly anxious to fight the super mutant again but each one of them was willing to do so if necessary.

Super Girl explained the situation to them. "We are from the 31st century. We came back in time because we have no records of your battle except for a story handed down through generations of mutants. I know these wounds may still be fresh in your minds. Unfortunately, if he gets control of 31st century earth, he may be able to control the entire universe. We came here to ask for your help. Would any of you be willing to come with us and help to defeat him? As you can see, 31st century technology is far more advanced than anything in this time. He could use this advanced technology to enslave anyone in any time period as well. Think of your descendants."

As Super Girl finished her plea, Gambit was the first to speak up. "I'll go. I don't like the idea of anyone enslaving mutants or anyone else for that matter, let alone my descendants."

"Where Remy goes, so goes the Rogue." Following Rogue's proclamation, Kitty, Lance and Piotr were the next to volunteer. Wanda, Kurt, Bobby, and Pyro joined them. At that moment, Carol Danvers, Carmen and Beast walked into the room. "I will also join you," said Carol Danvers. "It is the least I can do since you gave me my life back."

Logan looked at the young girl who, just an hour earlier, had been comatose and hooked up to machines for life support. "Are you sure, kiddo," he asked? "Apocalypse is a pretty tuff nut to crack."

"Yes, I am very sure of this. Two of mankind's greatest gifts are freedom and liberty. Those gifts are worth fighting for no matter what time line the battle is in."

Scott and Jean also tried to volunteer for the trip across time, but Saturn Girl spoke up before they could. "While we appreciate the fact that all of you are willing to join us, we also realize that there are many dangers in this time, which must be faced and defeated. We will not leave this area and time unprotected."

"Saturn girl is right," Super Girl said. "We can't leave you defenseless."

"Jean and Scott have battled Apocalypse before. Jean's abilities were enhanced in that battle," Professor Xavier thought projected to Saturn girl. "And Scott is a very good strategist. He is a squadron leader here with the X-men. And his optic blasts are powerful enough to stop a tank."

"All of us are in possession of some unique abilities. We will not be defenseless, Storm said quietly but firmly.

Logan growled his agreement. "We will be all right. Our students are well trained and we have several defensive systems in place."

After a few more minutes of discussion, Super Girl made her decision. "I appreciate all of you volunteering to help us. I must warn you that this is a very dangerous mission. I cannot promise any of you that you will come back to this time in one piece if at all. If any one wants to change their mind, now is the time to do so."

Cyclops spoke up. "I believe that is no different than what we face every day. I will speak for my teammates. We are honored to join you."

"It is settled then. The following X-men will be going to the 31st century to battle Apocalypse: Rogue, Gambit, Avalanche, Shadow Kat, Night Crawler, Ice Man, Pyro, Colossus, Cyclops, Jean Gray, and Carol Danvers," Xavier said.

"You can call me Ms. Marvel," said Carol.

"We will be leaving in the morning," Super Girl said. "Every one needs to get some rest and prepare. Say any last goodbyes, just in case."

****

Well, what do you think? The action is heating up. The team is picked for the ride to the future. Please review. Tell us what we are doing right as well as what is wrong.


	8. Revelations

****

Sorry to take so long on this chapter. It was in the hands of the editor for a while as HeartsyHawk was preoccupoed with studies and exams. We have also been working on chapter Nine as well.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Revelations

The hour was getting late. One by one the x-men began to leave the room. Finally, the only ones left, were Rogue, Miss Marvel, Storm and the Professor, along with the Legionnaires. "Rogue, will you kindly show our guests to the quest rooms for the night?" Storm asked "and get some rest yourself. It will be a big day tomorrow."

Rogue smiled at the Legionnaires. "Follow meh." She said. They all followed her. At the first room, Light Lass and Shrinking Violet entered. There were two twin beds and a pair of vanities. The next room was given to Carol Danvers and Super Girl. Then Saturn girl and Scarlett were shown to their room. Finally, Super Boy was shown to his room. Rogue then said good night to each of them.

As she was leaving their room, Saturn Girl pulled Rogue aside. "Did you consider my offer, Rogue?" She asked. "I believe I can help you if you will let me."

"Yes, Ah have, Saturn Girl. What could it hurt? But just so ya know, the insahde o' mah mahnd's a mess. Even Professa Xavier has trouble trahin' ta fahnd anythin'

ta help meh. Anyone Ah've eva touched is runnin' round up there." Rogue frowned. "Get's a li'l bit loud and crowded sometahmes." Rogue shook her head. "Right, so what do Ah gotta do, now? Ya ain't gonna hafta touch meh are ya?" She raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Saturn Girl smiled. "Don't worry Rogue. I don't plan on being sent into a coma. I will be using gloves when I touch your head. Would you prefer to be awake or asleep when I do this?"

"Can ya really do this while Ah'm awake? That would be realleh cool. Maybe Ah could see whah Ah couldn' eva control it." She hesitated, trying to regain her cool composure. "Ah mean, if y'all'd perfer meh ta sleep that'd work too." She shrugged like it was no big deal but her eyes revealed the fidgety excitement like she was a small child anticipating opening a bunch of Christmas presents.

Meanwhile, Super Boy had knocked on the door to his cousin's room. Super Girl let him in. "Hi, Kal. Carol and I were just talking about you."

Carol blushed. She had just told Super Girl that she thought her cousin was cute. She was also curious about her heritage. She had been told she was from Krypton and she had many questions. They had been talking been for about an hour when Super Boy had an idea. "Carol, can you fly?" He asked. At the same time, he used the Legion flight ring's telepathic channel to ask his cousin if Kandor was still in the fortress of Solitude at this time.

'Yes, Kal. It is still there,' Super Girl responded, realizing what he was thinking about. Perhaps they all could get their answers there. Super Girl was wondering if she should ask her parents about Carol.

"Yes, I can fly," Carol responded. "Why?" She asked.

At that moment, Saturn Girl and Rogue knocked on the door. "Are we interrupting anything?" Saturn Girl asked, seeing the three Kryptonians together.

"Come on in, Saturn Girl. We were just discussing our heritage with Carol, here."

"Good," Saturn Girl replied. "There is something you two need to know about Carol. When I was inside her head, I discovered a long forgotten memory, which is what I used to wake her up." Turning to Carol, "Do you remember what that memory was?"

Carol shook her head. "I really don't, Saturn Girl," she said sadly.

Saturn Girl frowned. "It was pretty traumatic for you. The memory I found was buried pretty deep. I saw you rocketing away from Krypton as Kandor was being stolen. I also saw you watching Krypton explode." Saturn Girl watched her friends as she revealed this information to them. "There is more if you want."

Carol was surprised. She knew she was from Krypton, because Super Girl had told her that. She had just heard Super Girl's Story about Argo City before Saturn Girl had came into the room. She had thought she was from Argo too. She thought that she and Super Girl were related. Now she wasn't sure. Yet they looked alike. "What else did you see, Saturn Girl," she asked.

Saturn Girl was in a dilemma. She had to be careful about revealing too much to the girl as it could send her back into psychic shock. Still the girl had a right to know what she had seen. "I learned your real name, Carol or should I say Kiral Kim Da. Your father was Dr. Kim Da and your mother was Won Da. You lived in Kandor and you had a group of friends called the War Birds." This information seemed innocent enough and would not really hurt her to know, Saturn Girl decided.

Super Boy and Super Girl exchanged puzzling looks. They were just about to talk about Kandor with Carol when Saturn Girl had come into the room. Now they both knew that they would have to take her there for the answers she was seeking. Super Girl also realized something else. Dr. Kim Da was the doctor who had delivered her. "I wonder," she thought. She knew she would have to talk to her parents in Kandor. (A/n: When her parents had sent Kara to Earth they and several others had escaped into the "survival zone similar to the phantom zone for Krypton's Criminals to avoid the destruction of Argo City. They were later rescued by Super Girl and brought to the bottled city.)

Saturn Girl decided that she would have to trust Carol and Rogue if she were going to be working with them. "I am going to be working with Rogue for a bit, trying to help her control her powers," she said. "And since I know so much about Carol and am about to learn so much about Rogue, I want both of you to know my real name is Imra Ardeen." A few moments later, Rogue and Saturn Girl returned to their room. Saturn Girl knew that her friends and Carol needed to talk. She had seen the looks of concern on Super Girl and Super Boy's faces when she had told Carol her information. Imra also knew about Kandor's story. She thought that they might decide to visit the arctic that night. 'It's a good thing that Super Boy and Super Girl could go without sleep," she thought.

Kara looked at Carol. "Would you like to see Kandor, Kiral? We can show it to you if you like. You will have to promise that you won't reveal anything to anyone else, though."

Kiral's face lit up when she heard Super girl's question. "You really know where Kandor is?' she asked excitedly. "Do you think any of my family is still there?"

"It is possible. My parents are there," Kara replied. "What do you think Kal-El?"

Super Boy looked at the girls. "What are we waiting for? I am curious to see Kandor, too."

Super Girl reached into her cape's secret pouch and pulled out her spare costume she always kept for emergencies. "Here, Carol. Put this on. We are going to Kandor and I want to see my parents' reaction to you."

Carol took the Super Girl costume and was about to change. Super Girl saw her hesitate. "Kal, Will you please turn around and close your eyes?" Kara asked her cousin.

Super Boy did as he was asked. Carol changed clothes at super speed. "Okay, you can turn around now."

Super Boy did a double take when he saw them. Dressed alike, the two looked like identical twins. He had seen enough of twins in Smallville to know what his cousin had in mind.

"Are we ready? Let's go," Kara said. Together, the three Kryptonians flew out of the window towards the arctic. Along the way, Kara said to Kiral, "You can call me Kara and that is Kal." Traveling at super speed, they soon got to the arctic region. Kara quickly found the gold key to the Fortress of Solitude and let them inside. Kiral blinked her eyes. "Is this Kandor?" She asked, wide eyed.

"No, this is the Fortress of Solitude," Super Girl answered. "Kandor is over here." She led the astounded pair to the bottled city. Inside was a miniature city. Above it was a red sun. "One thing you both must know. We can shrink down and enter the city. But once we do, we will not have our powers until we come back out. Are you ready?"

Kiral and Kal nodded their heads. Super Boy was shocked. He had seen the fortress in the 31st century but now he was going to see his world or what was left of it, up close. A tremor of excitement ran through his body. He realized that he was also going to meet his uncle and aunt. Along with his cousin, Kara, they were his only living relatives. Super Girl went over to a console and punched a few buttons. Then she made her way over to Kal's computer. "Records please" she said. Quickly she scanned the list of residents. "Aha!" She exclaimed. "Dr Kim Da is still here," she thought to herself. Smiling, she picked up the shrink ray. "Stand over here," she instructed her companions.

Super Boy and Ms. Marvel went to where she pointed. Kara set the device for a 5-second delay and turned it on. Then she joined them. An eerie blue ray bathed them in its light. Soon, they were all three inches high. They flew up to the top of the bottle. Super Girl opened the hatch and they all slid down a chute to Kandor's Surface. Super Boy wondered how they were going to get back up to the top, as he did not see any ladders. Kiral just looked around in amazement. Suddenly, she felt very confused. All of her suppressed memories came rushing to the forefront of her mind. She instinctively started to walk down a particular street, like she knew where she was going. Actually, she did. She was going home. Super Girl and Super Boy just followed her. Super Girl realized that they were heading to Dr. Kim Da's address. She also knew Kiral had regained her memory and smiled.

Back in Bayville, Saturn Girl and Rogue had just returned to Saturn Girl's room. They both saw that Scarlett was asleep in one of the beds. "Shh, let her sleep. If y'all bin dealin' with tahme travel, she must be exhausted." Rogue said softly. Saturn Girl agreed and pointed to the other bed.

"Lay down over there, Rogue," She whispered, pulling out a pair of red gloves from her pocket. "I'm going to put you in a sort of sleep that will prevent your subconscious from rebelling. Yet you will be conscious enough to stop me if something goes wrong or you need me to stop for any reason. And you'll know what I'm doing but you'll be very peaceful. Much like when a dentist gives you that variety of laughing gas that relaxes you, alright?"

Rogue nodded, speechless as the butterflies of nerves and excitement beat their wings against the sides of her stomach. If all went well, this was her dream from the past two years come true. If it didn't work...well she repressed the negative pessimist in her brain. This had to work!

As Rogue lay on the bed, she felt herself getting very sleepy. As she closed her eyes, she felt Imra place both hands on her head. "Relax Rogue," she thought. She did not know why, but she trusted Saturn Girl more than she had ever trusted anyone in her life. The chance to be able to control her abilities and perhaps lead a more normal life was very exciting to her. Soon she felt Imra's presence enter her mind. The astral projection of Rogue and Saturn girl drifted lazily through her mind, memories swimming by. It was arranged much like a complex maze with many secret levels, traps, and dead ends.

Rogue noticed this with dismay.

"Don't worry Rogue. I know what I am doing." Saturn girl assured her in a calm relaxing voice, in the Southern girl's mind. "I'm just exploring the set up of your mind to see what I am up against. Your mind is quite complex but as soon as I find what I'm looking for, I will do what I can to help you with control."

Saturn Girl's astral form examined each passing psyche fragment. There were quite a few. Saturn Girl noticed that the ones that appeared strongest were the ones that the shards of memory informed her were absorbed more than once. After a relatively brief span of time Saturn Girl located a particularly interesting psyche.

It belonged to a child no older than eight years old. His name was Dorian Leech and his power was to turn off any energy. Any form. Any power source.

Initially she felt that she could use the young mutant's psyche to permanently shut down Rogue's powers. The young woman would be able to regain her lost treasure of touch and live a normal life. Saturn Girl started the process as she scanned his memory of how his power worked. Then she felt compelled to stop.

She remembered talking a bit with Scarlett about the mutants of Earth in the 30th century. She had heard great speakers of pro-mutant rights activists. To remove Rogue's ability would restrain her powers. But the price of the ability to touch was Rogue's heritage and genetic material that made her a mutant. Stripping the girl of her powers took away what made her a mutant. For all intents and purposes, she would be turning this girl into a hypocrite. It went directly against Professor X's entire philosophy and even that of Magneto. She couldn't rightly do that. Especially as she reminded herself that she was messing around with the past and one false move could destroy the world and time which Saturn Girl knew as home. If she made Rogue a non mutant, how hard would it be to persuade her that it helped mutants if they had no powers. No, Saturn Girl decided there must be a better way. So she continued her search.

She rifled through Rogue's memory looking for a clue. Suddenly at the end of a dead ended puzzle corridor located centrally in the maze of Rogue's mind, Saturn Girl came upon a big steel door. It appeared to be bound with high technology. Saturn Girl moved towards it and was surprised by the faint hum it emitted. It was warm to the touch

"Bingo." She thought-whispered triumphantly. "Rogue I believe I've just found your mind's central control chamber!"

Forge and Lalo were in Forge's Car. They were both surprised to see the car undamaged after the riot. Forge also noticed, that Dr. Worthington's van was also undamaged. Little did they know that Super Boy and Super girl had repaired both vehicles after causing the crowd to disperse. As they traveled home, Lalo was strangely silent. Forge looked at his new friend. "You are going to keep your promise to the Legion, aren't you Lalo?"

"Yes, my friend. It is time for me to go back to the 31st Century and get my self-respect back," he replied. "Although it appears that I may be returning in the middle of a war, I am still going to do it when we get back to your house."

"Well, my friend, you helped me in a time of trouble. I want to go with you. I would be honored if you will take me to the 31st Century. I would like to help you as you helped me. You should not face this alone," Forge told him.

"Thank you, Forge," Lalo replied. "I have a feeling that your experiences as a mutant may be helpful at this time and therefore I accept your offer. Is there anything you need to do before you leave?"

"I will need to pick up a few things from my lab and then secure it while I am gone. It won't take me very long. I look forward to seeing your time. Man, I mean what techno-geek doesn't want to go to the future! It's like totally far out, dude!" Forge grinned with sheer excitement in his eyes.

At that moment, they turned down Forge's street. A few seconds later, Forge pulled into his driveway and opened his garage door. Pulling the car inside, Forge closed his garage door. Then he entered a code on the door, securing the garage to protect his car. He did not know how long he would be gone and he did not want the F.O.H to destroy his car or his home for that matter. The entire property began to hum and glow an eerie yellow. Forge had developed a force field to protect himself and his property. He had just activated the device. The unit was powered by a combination of a solar array and a deeply buried chemical reactor and would last indefinitely, he hoped. Going into his house, Forge began to put an assortment of devices into a bag along with some clothes he would need. He knew the clothes would be hopelessly out of style in the 31st century, but he was not worried about that. He would have to have something. The last three things to go into his bag were a pair of his patented PPD (Personal Protection Device) belts and a utility belt with attachments for his robotic arms. The PPD belt carried a very powerful laser blaster, a working, star wars inspired light sabre tuned to his own specific physiology and a portable force field generator. Forge had a feeling that he would need the PPD and Lalo could use one as well. He also grabbed his time de-ager and his time machine. Once he had everything packed, Forge went outside to join his friend. Lalo had uncloaked the time bubble and was busily setting the controls. When he saw his friend come out of the house, he opened the time bubble and invited him inside. "Are you ready for the future?" Lalo asked.

In Kandor, Kiral had recovered her memories and was heading directly towards her father's home. She was extremely excited at the prospect of seeing her father again. It had been nearly 20 years since the fateful day when Kandor had been stolen and he had been arrested. She had so many questions but most of all she really wanted to see her dad. Kara and Kal shared her excitement. Kara was also excited to see her parents and Kal was seeing Kandor for the first time. It only took a few minutes for the trio to reach Dr. Kim-Da's address. Kiral paused at the door. She was suddenly very nervous. Here she was at her father's home for the first time in nearly 20 years. In addition, she was wearing one of Super Girl's uniforms. Super Girl had told Kiral that the red and yellow S on the uniform was actually the symbol for the house of El. Kara's full name was Kara Zor-El. Kiral hoped to get an article of clothing with the symbol for the house of Da, her House. She liked Super Girl's uniform but wanted one of her own to celebrate her Kryptonian heritage. Finally, with a deep breath, she knocked on the door. A young girl opened the door about 14 years of age.

Super Girl stepped in front of Kiral. "We are looking for Dr. Kim Da. Is he here?" She said in Kryptonese.

"Daddy," the girl called out. "There are some people here to see you." Kiral heard the girl call the man daddy. That would make her the half sister to Kiral. Obviously, her father had not been forced to spend very long in the phantom zone and he had met someone else and was married with a new child. A few moments later, a man with gray and brown hair appeared at the door. A big smile crossed his face when he saw Kiral and Kara. He knew who Kara Zor El was. He also recognized the girl he had raised as his own daughter until that fateful day 20 years before when Braniac stole Kandor. At the same time, he was a little concerned. The two girls were dressed identically and they also looked alike. His mind flashed back to one fateful day about 21 years before. He had been working in the maternity unit in Argo City medicenter. A young woman, Allura Zor-El had been admitted. She was sedated in order to make the birth process more comfortable. While she was unconscious, it was determined that she was carrying twins. Twins were a rarity on Krypton and were often considered a curse by Rao. When he checked Allura's medical records, he discovered no indication of twins being diagnosed. Rather than expose Allura to the humiliation, ridicule and danger that she was sure to face by having the twins, he decided to take one of the twins as his own. Fortunately, his main nurse assistant that day was his own wife, Won. He and his wife had just found out the day before that they would not be able to have children of their own and this seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. This decision was not without its own consequences, however. A couple of years later, his beloved wife, Won Da was killed by a man who had just been released from the phantom zone. Then a couple of years later, Kandor was stolen and Krypton blew up. Just before Braniac had started stealing Kandor, Kiral's rocket had been launched to travel to earth. Dr. Kim Da had also been arrested that day. Fortunately for him, Kandor was stolen and shrunk and placed in the bottle they were now in. From Brainiac's ship, the people of Kandor watched in horror as mighty Krypton exploded into billions of fragments. Brainiac had left the view screen active because he had planned to steal Argo City and Kryptonopolis as well. He never got a chance to do so because of the explosion of the planet. The end result was that Dr. Kim Da was subsequently released and allowed to return to his home and medical practice. Many believed that he had suffered enough with the loss of his family. The two young women before him both wore the symbol of the house of El, as did the young man behind him. Dr. Kim Da had to do a double take when he saw Kal El. Super Boy was the spitting image of his friend Jor El. He did not realize that Kal El was the son of Jor El and Lara.

Kiral looked at her father. "May we come in, father?" She asked hesitantly. "I would like you to meet my friends, Kara Zor El and Kal El."

Dr. Kim Da opened the door wide to let his long lost daughter and her friends inside. As they entered, he introduced his daughter, Mara, to them. He noticed that Mara was staring at the two girls dressed alike. "Why are you two dressed alike?" Mara asked. Her father, and mother, Mari, who had just come into the room, was both wondering the same thing.

Kara smiled at the younger girl. "You see, Mara, when we decided to come to Kandor, I was going to visit my parents across town. Since Kiral and I look alike, I was going to try to trick my parents. And then I was going to ask them if they knew about Kiral. When we got here, Kiral got all her memories of Kandor back and we came here first. She remembered the way to your father's house because she is your half sister. Your father is her father, too. On Earth, I am known as Super Girl. That is my spare costume I keep for emergencies."

Mara looked at her father and at Kiral. A confused look came over her. "Daddy, if Kiral is my sister, how come she doesn't look like you. There doesn't seem to be any resemblance at all. Usually, the kids look like one of their parents. I have seen pictures of your first wife, Won Da. I found them in a closet inside a box about a year ago. Mom told me about her. Kiral doesn't look like her either."

Dr. Kim Da looked thoughtfully at his daughter and at his wife. Kara was looking at him as well. Should he tell them the truth about Kiral? After a few moments, he made up his mind. "Kiral and Kara, perhaps you had better sit down. You too, Mara and Mari. I have a story to tell you." He said. "About 21 years ago, I was working at the Van-El medical center in the maternity unit in Argo City. I was on duty when a young woman was brought in to deliver her baby. Her name was Allura El. Her husband was Zor El. As was the custom of the day, Allura was sedated to make her delivery more comfortable. I discovered she was carrying twins. When I checked her medical records, there was no mention of twins being diagnosed. I don't know if the previous doctor who had been caring for her missed the fact that she was carrying twins or had decided not to mention it in her records to spare her trouble. At that time, twins were a rarity on Krypton and one was often aborted in order to prevent a couple from being humiliated and ridiculed or worse. Twins were often thought to be a curse or a danger to a family. Any way, my wife and I had just found out we could not have any children of our own and we were working together that night. Kara, you were born first. I was preparing to close Allura up when Won noticed another head beginning to poke out of the birth canal. We looked at each other and I decided that Allura did not need the humiliation or degradation that would have followed. When I saw you, Kiral, I knew that we had made the right decision. We quietly took you into another room and Won started getting you ready to go home with us. Our shift was ending about an hour later and we were able to get you to our home. Allura and Zor El never knew about you, Kiral. We raised you as our own daughter. About 2 years later, Won was killed by a person who had just served a long sentence in the phantom zone. I continued to raise you until that fateful day when Brainiac stole Kandor. Just before he shrank Kandor, you launched your rocket. We had planned to go together but the authorities came to arrest me for violation of the prohibition against building rockets. The next day Krypton exploded. The government released me a few days later because they thought I had suffered enough. It was believed that your rocket had been destroyed by the shockwave that resulted from Krypton's explosion. A few years later, Mara, I met your mother. We were married and then you were born." As he finished his tale, he looked at the shocked faces of his family and guests. He felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "I do love you, Kiral, as much as I love you, Mara. As much as I can love a child as my own daughter. I know you are in a state of shock over what I have just told you. I hope that you can forgive me. I did what I thought was right at the time. I still think that what I did was the right thing. The alternative was to terminate your life, Kiral. You would not be here today if I had not done what I did."

Kiral looked at the man she had thought was her father. Then she did an amazing thing. She walked up to Kim Da and gave him a hug. "I understand, Dad. I believe you did the right thing. Thank you."

Kara also came up to him and gave him a hug. "You did the right thing. Doctor. I am glad that you told us." Then she went over to Kiral. "That explains why we look alike, sis. Would you like to meet your biological parents, Kiral? It is totally up to you. I do not believe that you should turn your back on your family that you know. Know this. You will be welcomed into the El family and we all will love you. You are very lucky to have two families who care for you so much."

Kiral looked at her father. "Dad, I know that you love me and I still love you. Can you tell me if you and Mom ever adopted me? I really need you to tell me," she said.

"Sadly, Kiral, we did not. We did not see any need to do so because we would have had to explain how you came into our custody. I never thought this would happen."

"Dr. Da, Do you know Zor El and Allura?" Kal El asked.

"Yes, Kal El, I do. I delivered Kara and I examined both of them when Kara brought them here. I have worked with Zor El on many occasions since. He is on our Science Council here in Kandor." Pausing, Dr. Kim Da looked Super Boy in the eyes. "I notice that you are a member of the House of El as well. You look a lot like a young man I knew on Krypton? It was Zor El's older brother, Jor El. Are you related to him, by chance?"

Now it was Kal El's turn to be shocked. "You knew my father?" He asked incredulously.

"Yes Kal. I knew your father very well. He and I had worked together. He had discovered that Krypton was doomed. We were working on building Space ships together that were going to be used to rescue Kryptonians from the impending disaster. Our plan was to relocate them to Wegthor. Unfortunately, an evil scientist named Jax Ur, took our prototype rocket and armed it with a nuclear warhead. Then he used that missile and destroyed Wegthor. The Science Council then banned space travel and the construction of space ships. We were reassigned to different projects at that time and we did not see each other as much. We both apparently made rockets in secret that carried You and Kiral to Earth." As he finished telling Kal about his father, he looked at the young man. Kal was thrilled to hear about his father. It was the seed that would send him on a great road of exploration about his heritage. He had as many questions to answer as Kiral had had. Those questions would have to wait for now. They needed to get Kiral ready to meet her real parents who did not know she existed and to prepare for the trip through time to fight Apocalypse.

"Ya found it?" Rogue's astral form murmured excited.

"Yes. I need you to relax. I can tell you have trust problems but I need you to allow me entrance. You need to help me open the door."

Astral-Rogue focused. "Ah...Ah can'. The locks are too tight." Her voice strained with effort.

"Rogue, the locks are merely a mental block from your subconscious."

"Ah can't do it!" Rogue whimpered as she struggled with the lock. "It hurts!"

"Rogue you have to do this. This is your mind. You can do it. Trust me, I won't let anything hurt you or go wrong."

"Ah'm trahin'" Rogue cried, tears brimming her eyes as she focused harder.

"Rogue, stop trying to force it. The only way this will get done is if you trust me." Saturn Girl explained patiently.

The Astral projection of Rogue took a deep breath. "Ya CAN do this, gal. She ain' gonna hurt ya." She repeated this multiple times until slowly the chains and security faded slowly away. All that was left was a large golden padlock. "C'mon Rogue, ya can do this. She ain' like the others. If ya trust her ya can touch. Tha's all it'll take."  
Gradually a large golden key appeared in mid air in front of Saturn Girl.  
"Excellent Rogue!" Saturn girl praised the astral appearance of the girl who smiled and sighed. She mentally turned the key and stepped into a new chamber. It was divided visibly into three parts. Saturn girl stepped to the first small divider, curiously. She was shocked to hear muffled crying coming from behind a small powder pink door.

The astral forms of Saturn Girl and Rogue cautiously entered. In the corner of the room, they found the source of the crying. A tiny child no older than four or five years old was huddled by a nightlight with an angel on it. The walls were lined with dark images moving rapidly. Memories. Saturn Girl suddenly understood.

The little girl looked up at her guests hopefully. "H'llo. Are ya here ta play with me?"

Saturn girl was astounded by the two tiny pigtails with white bangs. This was Rogue, or the child she had been. But she couldn't be sure.

"What's your name sweetheart?"

"Ah'm M'rie. M'rie Anna Darkeholme. An' Ah lahke ta play. Are ya here ta play wiv me?" The little girl's emerald eyes widened in her innocent plea.

"Why are you crying honey?"

"Cuz Ah'm scared. Ah don' wanna be all alone. Ah need somebody wiv me."

"Why?" Saturn Girl knelt down near the very young Rogue.

"Cuza the bad fings tha'll happen when Ah'm all 'lone." The girl shuddered. She beckoned the other two girls in close. "Daddy'll hit me. An' Mama will leave 'gain. An' lotsa bad things will get me."

"What bad things?"

"Ah dunno asacly what they are. But they come when mah light goes out." She gestured to her nightlight. "Ah can' let it go out. The bad things'll get me."

Saturn Girl frowned. "Nightmares." She turned to Rogue's astral form with a questioning raised eyebrow. The other girl shrugged and nodded.

"Please don' leave me lone." The child pleaded. "Everbody does. Lotsa peoples come but they don' like me. They go away. Noone stays round long nuff ta play." She pouted.

"We won't leave you alone." Saturn Girl smiled warmly. She nodded at Rogue's older form. "My friend is going to stay with you."

Marie smiled. It was an innocent toothy grin. "Do ya like playin' jump rope? Or tag? It's been fo'eva since Ah played tag!"

Rogue smiled. "Ah'd love ta, sugah. It's been a while fo' me too." Saturn Girl nodded and mouthed. 'I'll be right back.' before heading out of the cubicle.

The next segment was significantly larger. The walls and ceiling were lined with monitors. The girl at the main computer console turned. She was an exact replica of the real-world Rogue.

"Hi." She smiled.

"Hello." Saturn Girl grinned pleasantly, guessing this to be the representation of the girl she had come to know. "What are you doing?"

"Mah body ain' workin'." The girl shrugged. "Ah'm trahin' ta make sure Ah don' do nothin' stupid." She clenched her head. "Ugh mah job would be so much easier without all these extra people takin' over all the tahme."

Saturn girl paused thoughtfully. "Isn't there any way to control that?"

The other girl grinned. "O' course there is." She gestured to her computer console. "The off switch is rahght here."

"Then why don't you use it?"

The teen-aged Rogue frowned. "Have ya heard the li'l one ova there crahin'?" She cocked her head to the side of the wall where her younger self was located. "Its awful heart wrenchin'. Ah gotta leave her li'l light on for her. It gets her company so she stops howlin' fo' a li'l while. Mah job would be so much easier without it, but it ain' right ta leave her so terrified. Ah jus' can'."

Saturn Girl nodded. "I can hardly imagine. It's sweet of you to be so concerned for the child but don't you want to move on with life?"

The teen-Rogue shrugged. "There's a lot Ah'd lahke ta do, but the younger me comes first. She needs her light. It makes her feel safe. So we all are."

"Really...Isn't there any other way to help with that?"

"Ah don' know what ta do fo' her. But she was heah first so Ah guess Ah don't wanna change nothin' on her."

"Hmmm." Saturn Girl frowned. "Surely if she had some other means of comfort...I take it you know that particular switch would give you a real life...the ability to touch. You wouldn't need to be so reclusive."

"Yeah an' maybe Ah could have a boyfriend too..."a look of longing briefly crossed the teen's face. "Someone ta hug or kiss or somethin'. Ah mean, even ta hold hands with a guy would be so sweet, ya know?"

Saturn Girl smiled. "Yes I do know."

"But the kid don' deserve ta be miserable so Ah can be happy." The 'now' version of Rogue sighed and returned to furiously typing at the consoles.

"A life spent in fear is a life wasted." Saturn Girl stated gently. "I know you don't want to upset the little one, but you are upsetting you."

"Well unless ya kin keep that li'l gal happy without her light, Ah ain' turnin' it out." The girl stubbornly fell silent, suggesting that Saturn Girl would receive no further answers.

So the Legionnaire sighed and exited the room. She cautiously entered the third compartment. To her mild surprise a middle aged version of the girl whose mind she was exploring sitting peacefully on what appeared to look like a big office chair in front of a desk at the side of the mind-segment.

"Oh hi, new residents through that door." She gestured with a bored smile, like one might see on a secretary's face.

"Oh I wasn't absorbed." Saturn Girl explained.

"Really? What can Ah do for ya then?"

Suddenly Saturn Girl noticed that the room was hazy and slightly unclear. "Who are you?" She asked uncertainly.

"Me? Ah ain' nobody special...well at least not yet." She smiled. Saturn Girl noticed the accent had faded a lot. "Ah'm who Ah will be someday, Ah guess." She shrugged. "It's a very long and confusing story. If ya wond'rin' why Ah look all unclear it's cause Ah'm always changin' an' nobody knows exactly how Ah'll be until Ah get there."

"Intriguing." The telepath nodded. "So then if you are the future version of the girl I know as Rogue-"

"Oh I still go by Rogue."

"Yes sorry, so then what do you do while you wait to become the dominant version?"

"Right now, Ah basically play the role of conscience, and help nudge maself in the right direction occasionally. Oh and Ah help guide mah new head guests to their holdin' area so they don't get too wild."

"That sounds very important." Saturn Girl sounded impressed with the tasks she took on. "You mentioned, the right way, what do you mean by that?"

"Well, Ah've had a few ideas since Ah was a li'l thing 'bout what Ah want as a grown-up. Ah gotta help make sure that Ah don' do anythin' that'll make those dreams impossible. And sometimes Ah'll remind mahself of what Ah want."

"What would that be, if you don't mind me asking?" Saturn Girl's curiousity grew.

"Well, Ah know this won' sound like the gal ya know but Ah always thought a family an' a nice house wit' a picket fence an' a dog would be nice. An' Ah wouldn' say no ta a husband, kids, an' a nice job either."

"That sounds like a really happy dream." Saturn Girl smiled then frowned. "But sadly unattainable at this point in your present self's life."

"What? Why do you say that?"

"Well, your present self is making such options difficult by catering to your younger self."

"Ah don' think Ah understand what you mean." The older Rogue tilted her head to the side.

"The little girl in one of the compartments, she is afraid to turn her powers off, because she does not want the light that comforts her turned off."

"The poor kid. Ah neva really worried bout mah powers, figurin' they'd be controlled when mah control came..." The older Rogue frowned. "Do you know why she's that afraid?"

"She's afraid of the dark because of nightmares. And she doesn't like to be left alone apparently. I left the current Rogue's astral form with her."

"Well this simply won't do. Ah'd hoped this Gothic thing was just a teenage fashion statement...just a phase she'd go through and all that, but really if she is afraid ta touch an' get ova this..." The older form of Rogue stood up and headed to the cubical entry. "Ah'm gonna go see what Ah can do."

Saturn Girl led the way to the little girl's cubicle. Inside current-day Rogue and the little Rogue were sitting down playing Old Maid with cards that had come from who knows where.

"Hi Sugah." The older Rogue greeted the small child warmly. "Ah heard ya bin lonely."

"Hi, are you here ta pway too?" The girl grinned.

"That would be great." Rogue's future self cooed. "But firs' ya come ova here an tell me why yo' sad all the time."

"S'cause Ah don' wanna be lone." The little girl frowned. "Mama leaved an' Daddy don' like me an' Auntie Carrie's mean an' then ma new mama leaves me lone with ma new auntie Irene a lot and its not good. Cause the bad things can get me when Ah'm all lone."

"Well now, sugah, ya don' gotta worry bout that no more. How would ya like ta come ova to where Ah stay? Ah can 'magine ya up some nice toys an' even a doggy if ya want."

"A doggy!" The little girl's eyes widened and enlarged. "Like Jigger, from back home?"

The future Rogue laughed, "Exactly like Jigger if that's what ya want, princess. Ah can be yo' new new Mama. Ah won' leave ya."

"Kay." The little girl seemed pleased with this suggestion. She turned to current Rogue's astral form. "Thank ya fo' playin' with me." Then she turned and ran over to where the older version of herself stood smiling. They all went back to the future cubicle and instead of the blankness, toys and a big golden retriever sat around the chair.

"Now baby, gal, why didn' ya tell me that ya were so lonely."

"Ah didn' know bout ya." The teeny girl shrugged. "Ah thought nobody wanted me to be happy." Older Rogue hugged the little one and smiled softly. "Well now you know that ain' true, so no more cryin' alright?"

"I won'." The little kid grinned and sat down to pet the sleeping dog.

"Thank you very much." Saturn Girl nodded in appreciation to the future Rogue. She surreptitiously went to the cubicle next door.  
"You can turn off her light now."

"Oh?" The girl at the computer console smiled. "How'd you fix her?"

"I introduced her to your future self."

"Ah. Good idea. So now maybe I can turn off this switch, then huh?" The teen smiled softly.

"Yeah. That sounds like a good idea." Saturn Girl and the astral projection of Rogue began fading out of the mind chambers as the switch went off and the tiny light flickered out.

As soon as Saturn Girl was fully out of Rogue's mind she glanced over to the girl with a smile of congratulations. It was unrecieved however, because the mental effort had put Rogue to sleep, with a soft smile on her pale face.

"I do hope that helped you, Rogue."

She watched the girl for a few minutes until she blinked and stirred. "Wha? Where am Ah? Oh yeah." She sat up and stifled a yawn. "So it's done? Ah can touch now?"

Saturn Girl nodded and held out her hand. Rogue hesitantly peeled off her glove and stared warily at the proffered hand. She was shaking as she moved her hand closer. About four inches away she pulled her hand back sharply.

"Ah can' do it. Ah don' wanna hurt nobody." She murmured and looked away, hiding the tears of frustration.

"Rogue, it's alright." Saturn Girl coaxed.

"No, Ah can' believe mah pow'rs won't hurt ya. Ah...jus' can' do this."

Saturn Girl sat back, slightly puzzled. What was causing this fear? It was almost like her inability to touch had made her phobic of touch. Suddenly the telepath had an idea. She woke up Scarlett. "Scarlett, have you always had control over your absorbing powers?"

"No, Saturn Girl. I have not. When my powers manifested, People would faint if I touched them. Just like what happens to Rogue," Scarlett replied. "Why do you ask?"

"How did you gain control over this so you would not put people in an unconscious or comatose state?"

"A telepath, like yourself, who is also a hypnotherapist, went into my head and used a suggestion to allow me to touch without fear of endangering others. One thing that I always was afraid of was that I would put someone in a coma, which led me to be afraid to touch anyone at all."

"How long did you live with this fear, Scarlett?" Saturn Girl asked.

"Let's see. My powers manifested when I was ten. I was twelve when I underwent this procedure. So for two years I lived with the fear of putting someone in a coma. Fortunately, I had really understanding parents who realized what I was going through. My mother and father are both non-mutants but my father's brother was a mutant, and my mother had an aunt who was a mutant. They saw me having a difficult time and took me to the doctor. You might want to check Rogue's mind to see if she has the same fear. If she does, you know where to start. I would love to see my ancestor not troubled by madness anymore. It won't be easy to overcome this because she has had this for so long," Scarlett answered.

"Rogue, may I go back into your head? There's something I need to do."

"Sure." Rogue sighed heavily.

Saturn Girl placed her red gloved hands on Rogue's temples and entered her mind once again. Knowing what she was looking for, Imra made her way to the section of the brain that controls a person's emotional responses. As she searched the data hidden there, she also found a memory that confirmed her suspicions. This memory was of Mystique telling Rogue that she should always wear her gloves because she had a skin condition, which could be dangerous. This memory was reinforced over and over again by Mystique and Destiny. It was like it had been forced into her subconscious mind so that when Rogue's powers did manifest, the fear was already present. This kept Rogue from wanting to use her powers. Whenever her powers were activated, she would freeze up. Her mind would then seize the person's abilities, memories, and personality and force the other person into unconsciousness from psychic shock. The first thing she did was to find a happy memory for Rogue. The memory she chose to make prominent was the contrived kiss between Rogue and Gambit. Rogue felt very happy when she kissed the Cajun even though it was through her jacket. Next, she associated Rogue's powers with the happiness she felt when kissing Gambit. Then, she used her telepathic abilities to give the young Goth girl the confidence necessary to touch someone and removed the fear of causing injury to others. She also removed the belief that Rogue could only use the absorbed mutant's abilities for 60 times longer than her contact. with the other person. This would clear the way for Rogue to use all of the powers residing inside her including the power of Dorian Leech to shut off any and all power around her. Saturn Girl decided to make this a prominent part of Rogue's mutant abilities. Finally, she created a sort of filing system for all of the personalities residing in Rogue's brain. She made Marie Anna Darkholm's personality the dominant resident in Rogue's mind. No longer would she fear the residents in her head. She would be able to keep her focus no matter what the circumstances. At the same time, if the situation called for another personality to be used she would be able to call it up. She would now have access to all of the powers and personalities without the previous sense of dread. As Saturn girl finished giving Rogue's mind a makeover, she began to withdraw from her mind, leaving one last suggestion that Rogue was now strong enough to touch without fear.

"Rogue, how do you feel now?" Asked Saturn Girl as she removed her gloved hands from her temples.

"Ah feel pretty good, Saturn Girl," Rogue replied. "Do ya think ah can take off mah gloves now? Ah want to know if it is going to work."

"If you want to take them off, go ahead, Rogue," Saturn girl told her. "I want you to concentrate on touching Scarlett and not taking her abilities. Concentrate now. You can do it." Rogue quickly took off one of her black gloves. Then Imra moved Scarlett over to Rogue's side and placed Scarlett's hand in Rogue's. There was a moment's hesitation before Rogue clasped Scarlett's hand. Unlike other times when she touched someone, this time there was no flash of light in her mind. She did not feel Scarlett's memories or personality being forced into her brain. Rogue was elated. It appeared that the procedure was a success. She now was able to control her own ability. A smile ran across her face, giving way to a very wide grin. She felt a true joy deep in her heart for the first time. "I am glad to meet you, Scarlett. My name is Marie Anna Darkholm. My friends call me Rogue," she said as she released Scarlett's hand.

In Kandor, Super Boy, Kiral, and Super Girl were getting ready to leave Dr. Kim Da's house. Just as they were leaving, Mara came up to Kiral. She was holding a bright green sweater. On the front of the sweater, was a bright yellow crest. The crest looked like a round circle on a green background with the Kryptonian symbol for the house of Da emblazoned on it. "I want you to have this, Kiral. We look to be about the same size so it should fit you. I want you to wear this to show the world you live in that you are part of the proud Kryptonian House of Da. Please don't forget us. Remember that we love you, big sister."

Kiral was all choked up. She did not know what to say. Her whole world had been turned upside down. First, she found out that the people who raised her as their own daughter and were killed on their way to her high school graduation a few months before were not her real parents. Then she finds out she is from a planet that no longer exists. And then she discovers that the person from her world who is purported to be her father is no blood relation at all but a person who had kidnapped her at birth. Finally, she was given this valuable gift from someone who still believed her to be her sister. On top of it all, she was going to meet her real parents for the very first time. It had been a very eventful day. She took the gift from her sister. "I will treasure this always, Mara. It will become part of my uniform. I am proud to call you my sister." Turning to Mari, she said to her, "Take care of my sister and my father. Even though he is not my biological father, I will always treasure him as my dad. He holds a special place in my heart right next to Marie and Joseph Danvers who raised me on earth. Without those three people I would not have become the person I am today. And Mari, can I call you mom?" With tears in her eyes, she gave each of them a hug, and turned to depart.

Mari hugged Kiral back. "I will be honored if you call me mom, Kiral. You have given us a most wonderful gift today for which I will be eternally grateful. Thank you. Now go my daughter and make us proud." Then she handed Kiral a cloak with the same symbol as the sweater her sister had given her.

Finally, the time for goodbyes was done and Super Girl, Super Boy and Ms. Marvel left the house of Kim Da. Kiral folded her sweater and cloak and placed them in the secret pouch of Kara's cape. The three young Kryptonians headed across town to the home of Allura and Zor El. Along the way, they passed a store. Kiral saw a pair of yellow shorts that would match her cloak and sweater. Kara saw her looking at them. They went inside the store. Kara talked to the shopkeeper in a quiet voice and explained Kiral's situation to her, while Kiral looked at the yellow shorts. The shopkeeper agreed to allow Kara to charge the shorts to her mother's account. She was sure her mother would not mind. Taking the carefully wrapped package, Kara put it into the pouch of her cape. She would give the shorts to Kiral before they left Kandor. Soon after leaving the shop, they reached the home of Allura and Zor El. It was Kara's turn to ring a doorbell and surprise her parents.

Allura opened the door and was met by the two girls dressed alike. Kal had stood behind his two cousins. "Hi, mom" both girls said at once. Allura was confused. Both of these girls looked like her daughter, Kara. She knew one was her daughter but she did not know the other one. And she was not sure which girl was Kara and which was the stranger. After a few moments, she also noticed Kal El. He looked like a younger version of Superman whom she had met many times. Allura was really confused now.

Finally, Kara could not continue the joke any longer. "May we come in, mom? I would like you and dad to meet my new friend."

Allura looked at her daughter. "Kara is that you? What are you doing here?"

"Is dad here? I think you and he both needs to hear the story I am about to tell you." The three young people moved into the living area, followed by Allura who called out for her husband to join them. A few seconds later, Zor el came into the room wiping his hands and face. He was covered in a white dust. A big smile ran across his face when he saw Kara. Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks. There were two Karas standing before him. Then he saw young Kal El too. "Mom, Dad, you both need to sit down," Kara told them. Once they had settled onto the Kryptonian loveseat, Kara introduced Kiral to them. "Mom, Dad, I would like you to meet Kiral Kim Da-El. She is my sister and your daughter." Then Kara proceeded to tell her stunned parents Kiral's story. When Kara finished her tale, she proceeded to introduce them to Kal El. "You have met Kal El many times; Mom and Dad, but you may not have met him at this stage of his life. You see, Kal and I are both members of the Legion of Superheroes in the 31st century. We came back to this time period on Legion business. That is how we met Kiral. She goes by Carol on earth. In another strange coincidence, our adoptive parents on Earth shared the same last name-Danvers. Kal goes by Super Boy on earth. He will grow up to be the Super Man you have come to know and love. We can both exceed the time barrier on our own without any assistance. That is how we both are eligible to be members of the Legion. We are from two different periods of time, yet we can work together" Looking at her speechless and confused parents Kara elaborated. " What can I say. Time travel is a cornucopia of disturbing concepts."

Allura was the first to speak. "Kiral, where were you born?"

"According to the man who was supposed to be my father, I was born about five minutes after Kara. In the Van El medicenter in Argo City. Apparently, you were carrying twins and you did not know it. He said you were destined to endure a lot of humiliation and torment so instead of aborting the second child, me, he took me to Kandor and raised me as his own daughter. About four years later, I launched my rocket to Earth just as Brainiac was stealing Kandor, My father was supposed to join me but he was arrested for violating the ban on building rockets. He was released a few days later, as it was believed that he had suffered enough with the loss of his family. The day after Kandor was stolen, Krypton exploded. Apparently, Brainiac was planning to steal Kryptonopolis and Argo City as well as Kandor but was thwarted by the explosion of Krypton."

Allura and Zor El were shocked at the revelations but both realized that Kiral was telling the truth. They now had a second daughter that they had never knew existed. They also realized that they could not fault Dr. Kim Da for what he did. Kiral was right. They would have been the subject of much ridicule and public humiliation if it had been known that they had twins. Things have changed a bit since then. "Welcome to the family, Kiral. or should we call you Kira El?" Then they gave her a big hug.

Kiral was speechless. She now had two Kryptonian families who loved her. She also knew that she would do her best to uphold the honor of both families. She decided to wear the symbols of both houses proudly on her uniform. She would have to design a logo that incorporated both. But now, she knew that it was time to leave the wondrous world of Kandor and help the Legionnaires stop the mutant villain Apocalypse. When she had recovered her voice, she said: "Thank you for the love. I will treasure you always. I am, however, going to use the name Kiral Kim Da-El. That way I will continue to be part of both of these wonderful families and will do my best to bring honor to both."

Allura looked at her new daughter. "You are a very wise young woman. We are so proud of you. Take good care of yourself, Kiral. You are always welcome here."

Super Girl realized that it was now time to leave. "Mom and Dad, It is time for us to go. We do have to rejoin our comrades back in Bayville. Our future awaits us."

Zor El said, "We will take you to the top of the bottle in our antigrav car. May Rao protect all of you and bring you safely home."

The three Kryptonians bid a final farewell to Allura and Zor El and then left the bottle city. As they made their way out of the red sun's rays, they could feel their powers return. Super Girl enlarged them to their normal size and the three super beings left the Fortress of Solitude. After putting the key back where it belonged, Super Girl said "Let's get back to Bayville." Using their super speed, they soon arrived back in Bayville. It was about 2:00 a.m. when they arrived. "Get some sleep, girls," Super Boy told them as he left their room.

****

Well that is it for this chapter. What do you think so far. Like it or hate it, please review. You see the review button. You want to press it. Go ahead. Tell us what you think.


	9. The Trip Through Time

**__**

THE END OF THE WORLD

CHAPTER NINE

THE TRIP THROUGH TIME

Morning came early for the Legionnaires. Super Boy and Super Girl did not need as much sleep as the rest but they were still tired. Saturn Girl had been up helping Rogue overcome her inability to control her powers. Light Lass had also had trouble sleeping. She had found herself having nightmares about her twin brother, Lightning Lad. She kept seeing him being stripped of his powers and then being killed because he was defenseless. The dreams wreaked havoc on her emotional state and she felt exhausted when morning came. Another thing that was bothering her was the sudden reappearance of her own lightning powers. She had first noticed them during the confrontation with Micro Lad. However, when she went into her room, she noticed she could fully generate her lightning at will. Had she lost her ability to make things super light? She hadn't really had a chance to find out. Suddenly, she was aware of the smell of frying bacon. Storm had gotten up and was fixing breakfast for the X-men and the Legionnaires. A few minutes later, all of the X-Men and the Legionnaires came into the dining room. As they all gathered , they found that Storm had whipped up bacon, sausages, eggs, and pancakes. Additionally, there was coffee, tea and juice for everyone.

Eagerly, the new friends ate their morning meal. One X-man was conspicuously absent. Pietro, also known as Quicksilver, had left the mansion the evening before. He had gone over to Forge's house. Forge and Lalo had just gotten into the time bubble and were preparing to leave for the future when suddenly they see a pair of blue streaks coming down the street towards Forge's house. It was Carmen and Pietro. Quickly, Forge de activated his force field to allow them to enter. Lalo was just about to engage the time travel sequence when Carmen and Pietro came up to them. "We want to come with you," Pietro said.

"It will be dangerous, Pietro," replied Forge. "It appears that we may be heading into another war with Apocalypse. Who knows what will happen in this one. We will be 1000 years in our future. Apocalypse, will have access to all the technology that will have been developed during this time. We will not know what we are fighting against nor will we have any advance warning when he is going to attack. We may not come back."

"And how is that any different from what we face in this time?" Carmen wisecracked. "Life is full of uncertainty no matter what timeline you are in."

"There is also the little matter of police involvement. I am a wanted criminal in the 31st Century," Lalo remarked. It is not likely to be pleasant for those with me."

Carmen and Pietro both just laughed. "It's not like I am a perfect angel," they both said together. They looked at each other in shock. "Apparently we have both had our own involvement with the gendarmes. That won't be anything new to us. Same Stuff Different Time," Pietro said. After a few more moments of arguing, Lalo finally consented and the door to the time bubble was opened. "Let's go," he said.

As they climbed into the time bubble, Carmen noticed the array of instruments in the machine's console. Lalo had already set the controls for the Date October 12, 3004. As he was setting up the time travel sequence, Forge was busily resetting his force field device to protect his house from the mutant hating neighbors. When Lalo hit the start button a catchy melody started playing _"JUST SIT RIGHT BACK AND ENJOY A TRIP--THROUGH TIME_ (a/n: tune is to theme from an old TV show, Gilligan's Island). Soon the time bubble had ventured into the time stream. Carmen and Pietro were looking out the windows of the time bubble. They watched silently as the years flew by. Each year was represented by its numbers much like the numbers on an elevator counting floors in a skyscraper. After several hours in the time stream, the time bubble started to slow down. It was approaching the specified date. Lalo had programmed the device to land right outside the SCIENCE POLICE HEADQUARTERS building. He planned to leave the time bubble and go inside to turn himself in to the Science Police. However, as he disembarked, he discovered that the building was empty. Looking up in the sky, he noticed what appeared to be beams of energy crisscrossing the bright sunny sky. There appeared to be several pyramids suspended by these energy beams at strategic points in the atmosphere. Lalo was surprised by the empty building. Suddenly, an energy beam passed right by him. It would have hit him except for the quick thinking of Carmen and Forge. Using her super speed, she was able to push him out of the way just in time. Forge had turned on his bio genetic light sabre and was able to deflect the beam into the ground. Pietro was the last to exit the time bubble. He took one look around and seeing the energy beams, he knew instantly what was going on. Apocalypse had already arrived. The Super Mutant was already setting up his evil machines to begin the transformation of the entire populace of the planet earth into mindless mutants who would become his slaves. "Forge was right," he thought. "It's another war with Apocalypse." Pietro realized that the stakes were much higher this time around. The entire universe and all of time would be at stake this time.

Back in Bayville, the Legionnaires and those selected to be the time-traveling squad of X-Men had finished their breakfast. All of the goodbyes had been said and it was now time to leave. The heroes started climbing into the time bubble which expanded with proper seating to accommodate them all. Saturn Girl set the controls to take them to October 10, 3004. This was the day after they had left to go back to meet the X-Men. She hoped they would be in time. One by one they all arrived at the time bubble. The last one to come to the time bubble was Carol Danvers. She was wearing her new costume. She had her green and yellow sweater, her yellow shorts and her green and yellow cloak. On the front of sweater was what appeared to be a lightning bolt. It was surrounded by a blue shaped geometric figure (a/n picture the symbol on Superman or Supergirl's costumes or picture a baseball home plate) with what would appear to be a red S. The lightning bolt was green and went through the red S. The same symbol appeared on her cloak and her shorts. Two green and yellow boots completed her new look. Super Girl noticed her new uniform. Carol Danvers was keeping her word. She was proudly displaying the symbols of the House of El and the House of Da together. Super Girl knew she must have been working on it half the night. She had to admit, it did look good on her.

Finally, everyone was aboard the time bubble and the settings were all set. Saturn Girl engaged the time traveling sequence and they were off to the future. Once underway, Bobby Drake decided to ask a question which had been floating around his young mind. "Man, I can't wait to see a base ball game from the future!"

Light Lass looked at him. What could she tell him that would not leave him devastated. Saturn Girl felt that all of the X-Men deserved to know what had become of their world. She also knew that such knowledge could cause history to be changed. The only problem with changing one bit of history, even in a seemingly insignificant way, was what is known as the butterfly effect. Change one and you end up changing everything. She knew that each one of the X-men would have to undergo a memory erasing procedure when this battle was over. Unfortunately, it was the only way to prevent history from being changed. Saturn Girl used the telepathic channel of the Legion Flight Rings to tell Light Lass, that she could answer the young man's question. Light Lass cleared her throat. "Well, Iceman, baseball as you know it is not really recognized anymore. There are no longer any professional leagues. In fact, there are only six baseball organizations left. These six organizations; I believe you call them teams, are The Baltimore-Washington Orioles, Your favorite, The Boston-New York Red Sox, The Chicago-St Louis Cubs, The Atlanta-Miami Marlins, the Los Angeles-Oakland Angels, and finally, the Tokyo-Yokohama Giants. They play each other about six times a year. All of the funds raised are given to the United Planets Universe Children's Fund to provide for needy children throughout the known universe. the teams usually play 15 players at a time all over the field. Instead of a person throwing the ball to a batter, it is thrown by a pitching machine. The machine throws only very slow balls, which the players try to hit really hard. Unfortunately there are so many players all over the 600 ft deep fields that very few are able to get on base. It is not the exciting sport you enjoy now. The game is really quite boring and not many people go to the games anymore."

Bobby and Kitty were both disheartened at the news. The truth is both of them really enjoyed baseball and the fact that their teams were only two of six remaining was sad. Added to the fact that their favorite teams had obviously been merged with their hated rivals, the Yankees and the Cardinals, the result was quite devastating to them. Suddenly, Kitty burst into tears. It was like she had lost someone very precious to her. A future without baseball seemed very bleak to both of them.

"That is so depressing," Kitty frowned.

"Yeah. Serious bummer." Bobby said sadly. "Baseball the way it is supposed to be is so much fun and is really cool.

"Before baseball broke up, The Boston Red Sox or the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago Cubs always played each other in the World Series. The only way for the other teams to win was through cheating and violence. The Red Sox , Cubs and Orioles were the only honorable teams left at the end. That is why they survived and the rest just disappeared. The other three teams were kept because they were the best of the rest," Saturn Girl told them. "You are right. On both counts, Bobby. Baseball the way it is supposed to be was really fun and cool. And the fate of baseball is truly sad and depressing."

Carol was only half listening to the conversations going on around her. She busied herself by looking out the window and watching the years go by. She wasn't really noticing the time passage because she was deep in thought. She still had not quite gotten used to the idea that she was not a mutant but an alien from a world that no longer existed. And that she had two families from this planet and that they lived in a city in a bottle. She had indeed worked long into the night designing her new costume. She wondered if she should continue to be known as Ms. Marvel or perhaps another codename would be more appropriate. She continued to ponder the events of the last day as the trip through time continued.

Meanwhile, at the end of time, The Time Trapper was busy watching his new timeline begin to develop. He had already sent Apocalypse and his four henchmutants to their date with the Legion and their ultimate defeat. Everything was in place or so he thought. The one thing he did not foresee would lead to his failure. At that very moment, in his own palace, the seeds of betrayal were being sown. Universo had started his own plan. He had done something he had not done in centuries. Universo had sent a message to his son Rond Vidar. "My son," the message began. "I have to tell you what is about to transpire may go down as the worst disaster in human history. As you know, I have been working with the Time Trapper over many centuries in his plot to take over the universe. I must confess, that until now, I shared his mad goal of Universal domination. I helped him to free Mordru which resulted in the most recent battle with the Legion. I now know the folly of this plan. As I write this message, know that if I am discovered, I will be terminated. As in being totally removed from the realm of existence. While the thought does terrify me, I can no longer be part of this mad man's plans. He has brought forth a mutant from Earth's long ago past. This mutant is named Apocalypse. He has four very powerful mutants with him. One is an inhuman elemental named Crystal. At her side is a mutant named Sebastian Morrison Summers aka Cyclops after one of his ancestors and his sister Jean Grey Summers also known as The new Dark Phoenix V. A fourth person also travels with them. This is a mutant named Mesmero. He has worked with Apocalypse before. He has Apocalypse's complete trust and confidence. Elevating him to horseman was an easy choice for Apocalypse to make. One that Mesmero embraced quite willingly. The other three seem to have been conscripted. It seems that the Time Trapper plans to use this super mutant, Apocalypse, to destroy the Legion and all the Darkstars. Without the time guardians, he believes that the universe would turn to him. Then he is going to come in to take over the universe and have Apocalypse as his right hand man and main enforcer. It should be noted that Apocalypse's only goal is to speed up the evolution of mankind into mutants and make them his slaves. The Time Trapper also wants to seize control of the mind and essence of Mordru and utilize the evil wizards' powers in this quest. I need not tell you, my son, what will happen if he is successful in this plan. I am providing you with these details in hopes that you and the Legion may prevail. Another thing you must know, is that Apocalypse has a weakness. If he is entombed in a structure, he, like Mordru, becomes powerless. At the same time, he is in possession of every known mutant ability. Encapsulating the super mutant will not be an easy task The fate of the universe is now in your hands, my son. Good Luck and God Speed. I must close for now as the it is time for the master's tea. He is quite mad, you know. I will do what I can at this end. This is truly the battle for the end of the world." Ending the message, Universo placed it into a Darkstar capsule disk and placed it into the time stream, pushing it to the year 3004 programming the date of arrival as October10, 3004. "I have done all I can for now," he thought. "I only hope that it reaches my son in time."

In the 31st century, Rond Vidar received the Darkstar capsule. It was the ordinary means of communication between Dark Stars. Expecting it to be routine communication regarding some function he would be expected to attend, he started to put the capsule disk aside. All of a sudden, he felt a presence in the room. A presence he had not felt in many years. Universo had also enclosed a hypno transmitter in the capsule. While Rond was immune to his fathers hypnosis and the devices he used to bring about that hypnosis, the very presence of the hypno transmitter was enough to alert him to approach the disk with caution. Carefully engaging his mind to keep out the effects of the hypno transmitter, he opened the disk and put it into a Disk reader. He soon saw the message and the accompanying data on Apocalypse and his four current horsemen. He realized that the Legion needed this information immediately. Rond Vidar put on his Legion Ring. As an honorary Legionnaire, he had been given the ring for meritorious service during the last battle with Mordru. The Legion ring had been modified however. This particular one did not have flight as an activated option. It still could be used as a means of telepathic communication and to appraise its owner of Legion bulletins, and activities throughout time itself. Then he went to his closet and pulled out his old Legion Flying Belt and put it around his waist. As he took off for Legion Headquarters, Rond began transmitting the message and its accompanying data through the very secure telepathic channels of the Legion ring. The message was directed to Mon El and Brainiac 5. However, he considered the message important enough to send to Saturn Girl and Super Girl as well. Unfortunately, they were en route through the time stream and did not receive the message right away. As luck would have it, Rond Vidar arrived at Legion Headquarters at the same time as the Legion time bubble. As the legionnaires disembarked from the time bubble, there were several faces that he did not recognize. Since he had seen the legionnaires only two days before, he was a bit confused by the newcomers. He knew that they had not selected any new members yet as he would have been able to vote on the applicants. That was one privilege Rond believed in exercising. While his immunity to any form of hypnotism along with his super intellect could have been considered to be super powers, he did not seek full time Legion membership. Instead, he preferred to be an honorary Legionnaire and DarkStar for the Alpha Sector of the universe. As the time guardian for Earth, he felt that he was better able to help the Legion. Rond soon noticed that most of the newcomers were wearing a similar style uniform. Each was wearing basic black uniforms with some form of X insignia. He guessed they were a team from the past that had come to help the Legion against Apocalypse. The only ones who weren't wearing the same uniform were the young mutant, Scarlett, he knew her to be a legion applicant and another girl in a bright green and yellow costume. There was something familiar about this girl. Then he saw her next to Super Girl. Rond Vidar had to do a doubletake. The two girls looked identical except for their costumes. The emblem on the stranger's costume was similar to Super Girl's costume except for the green lightning bolt through the red S. Super Girl saw Rond looking at them. She grabbed her sister by the hand and brought her over to where Rond was standing. Rond Vidar, I would like you to meet my sister, Ms. Marvel," she said. Turning to Carol, She said "Rond is an honorary member of the Legion of Super Heroes."

Rond was speechless as he shook Ms. Marvel's hand. "Did you say this young lady is your sister Super Girl? I did not know you had a sister"

"It's a long story, Rond," Super Girl replied.

Saturn Girl overheard the introduction of Carol to Rond. She was also surprised. "Hmm, it seems like they may have discovered something in Kandor," she thought. "Allow me to introduce our guests, Rond." Saturn Girl said. "This is Cyclops, Jean Grey, Shadow Cat, Avalanche, Colossus, Iceman, Pyro, Night Crawler, Gambit, and Rogue. You have already net Ms. Marvel. These young people are the X-Men. They are here to help us with Apocalypse. They have battled him before."

"You seem to know about Apocalypse. Did you get my message, Saturn Girl?" Rond asked.

"What message was that, Rond?" Super Girl asked.

"Rond sent us a message telling us about Apocalypse," Mon El said as the remaining Legionnaires came out of from Legion Headquarters. "While we already knew about him, I am afraid that the news gets much worse. According to Rond, The Time Trapper is behind this battle. He is also planning to utilize Mordru again."

Scott looked at Mon El. "I am Cyclops. We are the X-Men. If you don't mind my asking, who the heck is this Time Trapper guy?"

"Welcome to the 31st century, Cyclops," Mon El replied. "The Legion welcomes you and your X-Men. The Time Trapper is a villain who has the ability to control and manipulate time. He has been known to alter the timeline and wipe out entire galaxies. Mordru is a super sorceress whose magical abilities can alter reality. These two villains are bad by themselves, but when you add them to your enemy, Apocalypse, it is triple trouble. Allow me to introduce the rest of the Legionnaires. This is Shadow Lass, Phantom Girl, Lightning lad, Cosmic Boy, Ultra Boy, Colossal Boy, Element lad, Princess Projectra, Brainiac 5, Invisible Kid, Wildfire, Chameleon Kid, Matter Eater Lad, Blok, Karate Kid, Sun Boy, the White Witch, and Timber Wolf. I am Mon El."

At that moment, Apocalypse's ship appeared in the sky. A blast from a laser came perilously close to the gathered Legionnaires. Immediately, Ms. Marvel and Jean Grey took to the air. They were followed by Rogue and the entire Legion. Jean erected a powerful psychic shield to protect the Legionnaires. Brainiac also projected his force field around the area. Super Girl, Mon El, Super Boy, and Ms. Marvel all responded by using their heat vision against the ship. Cyclops aimed his optic blasts at the ship. Lightning Lad and Light Lass hurled lightning bolts at it. As the Legion started attacking Apocalypse, two more ships joined the fray. It was his four horsemen joining the battle. All of a sudden, there were two more ships closing fast behind them. The difference being this time the two new ships were sporting the familiar L's. They were Legion cruisers. One had Star Boy and Dream Girl in it and the other contained Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel. The two Legion Cruisers immediately began firing as they approached the three spaceships from behind. Sensing the danger from a well armed Legion, Apocalypse and his ships pulled up and began to move away from Legion Headquarters. The Legion allowed them to move off without further incident. Apocalypse moved his ships to a clearing and set them down. The super mutant was not accustomed to being thwarted. He decided to use the approach that he knew best. He would power up the world's pyramids and utilize their special properties to create a web encircling the planet. Then he could forcibly evolve the entire human race into mutants. Once that was accomplished, he would enslave the planet and take over the rest of the universe. What he did not know was the extent of the powers of the Legionnaires. He presumed them to be mutants and he would be able to control their mutant abilities as he had other mutants in the past. As the three ships landed, Crystal Maximoff Summers and her husband, Sebastian Morrison Summers, were goofing around. Crystal had created a tiny rain cloud above her husband's head. It was constantly pouring on him. Sebastian Summers was playfully firing laser beams at her. Mesmero looked at his two fellow horsemen. Clearly, they were not aware of the seriousness of their mission, he thought. The Final Horseman was New Dark Phoenix V. The fifth host of the phoenix force was the most devastating user of that power. While named for her ancestor, Jean Grey, this Phoenix was totally ruthless and vicious. There was no kindness at all with in her. She would not hesitate to terminate a person's life if she even thought they had looked at her wrong. She was very quick tempered and prone to violent outbursts. The only person she respected was her brother Sebastian. He alone seemed to be able to keep her in check. Mesmero was the only one who seemed to understand what Apocalypse was seeking to accomplish. Ever since they had been plucked out of the time stream by the Time Trapper, the group had been preparing for the conflict with the Legion. None of them realized the strength of the Legionnaires as The Time Trapper had not divulged much information about them. Mesmero wondered if the Time trapper had a hidden agenda of his own. Mesmero did not feel real comfotable with his fellow horsemen and hoped that his master would be able to use this mismatched team. Apocalypse was in his ship setting up the software that would allow him to power up the pyramids in this world. He was unaware that two of his four horsemen were clowning around. After a few minutes he was prepared to activate the software. All that remained was to link the three ships' power sources together. It was then that he discovered what his two horsemen were doing. Immediately, he sent the power shackles after all four of his horsemen and placed them in their containment pods. Then, he began the process to link the three ships power sources together. Once the connections were all secured, he retreated to his ship and his resting chamber. He would need all his strength in the coming days ahead to carry out his plans for mutant enslavement of mankind. He had also read the mind of the Time Trapper and was aware of what the Time Trapper was planning. He decided to destroy the Time Trapper and this Mordru character as well. There would be nothing to stand in his way of total domination of the universe.

Two days later in time, Lalo, Forge, Quicksilver, and Carmen were under attack from Apocalypse's energy bands. They quickly retreated into the safety of the time bubble. "Lalo, we have to got to a time before these bands appeared," Pietro said. "I have seen these before, the last time I fought against Apocalypse. He is here now and beginning to start his evolutionary process. All of humanity is now in danger. If we are to help in the fight against this menace, then we must get to before these bands appear. We should go back two days at a time to see when they first appeared. Hopefully, we can get to where the others are and join in the fight."

Lalo quickly set the controls for October 10, 3004. He also changed the location of where he wanted to go. He would go to Legion Headquarters. He knew the Legion were deputized Science Police Officers and could accept his surrender. It would also allow his comrades to join up with the Legionnaires and the other X-Men in this battle. What his part would be in this battle was yet to be determined. As he pressed the startup button, once again the now familiar melody "Sit right back and we'll take a trip--through time" began to play. This time the trip was much shorter. In seconds, the group were at Legion Headquarters on October 10, 3004. Once again, they disembarked from the time bubble. This time there were no energy beams overhead. They had arrived a few moments after Apocalypse's aborted attack on the Legion. When they arrived, the Legionnaires had just retreated into the building and were getting ready to discuss strategy with the X-Men. Lalo walked into the building followed by Forge, Quicksilver, and Carmen. Lalo immediately put his hands above his head and walked into the meeting room. "Hello, Legionnaires. I am here to surrender just as I promised Saturn Girl in the 21st century. I also have a time bubble that you need to take possession of."

Mon El was shocked. He did not know about the agreement with Saturn Girl as she had not yet debriefed him on the events which had transpired in the 21st century. Lalo was supposed to be in an interplanetary prison. Yet here he was, surrendering to the Legion. Shrinking Violet walked over to Lalo. "This better not be a trick, Lalo." she said, clapping a set of shackles on his wrists and ankles.

"It's not, Shrinking Violet," he replied "I meant what I said in the 21st Century."

"Super Girl, take Lalo Muldoon to our security cell and put him in it. Set the phantom zone projector to activate if he tries to escape," Mon El instructed. "That way he will be able to be brought back to justice."

Super Girl led him away and placed him in the security cell and set the Phantom Zone Projector as Mon El had instructed. Then she returned to the meeting room.

Just then the sounds of a parade could be heard coming down the street. There was music playing and shouts could be heard. Scarlett Maximoff looked around. "What is the date today?" she asked.

Shadow Lass replied: "It is October 10, Scarlett. Why do you ask?"

"Oh my goodness.! Today is Mutant Independence Day!" Scarlett exclaimed. "October 10th is recognized by mutants everywhere as the date that Apocalypse was defeated in the 21st century by the X-Men and The Brotherhood and Acolytes."

Jean Grey looked thoughtfully at the young girl. She was right. That was the date that Apocalypse had been defeated. It was nice to hear that their contributions had been recognized. At the same time, Jean and Scott both realized the irony of the situation with Apocalypse's reappearance this very day, one thousand years later. "Unfortunately," Jean said, "He is back to try again. This is not a good time for a parade."

"We have a parade and celebration every year, Jean. No one knew he was going to come back at all," Scarlett said defensively. "The parade is planned months in advance." Looking a the Legionnaires, Scarlett pleaded. "Please help my people to preserve our freedom."

Mon El looked at the contingent of X-Men. "You all have battled him before. Do you think he would be likely to attack us again today. I think we caught him a bit off guard earlier."

Scott and Jean looked at each other. Their psychic links were already connected. Jean decided to defer to Scott. Scott cleared his throat. "I don't know if he will attack again today. You did surprise him when all of you went after him and your two ships coming in when they did. I don't think he expected such a show of force. My guess is that he went somewhere to analyze his situation and to prepare for his evolutionary process. That process takes a lot of power and he has to coordinate that process."

At this point, Pietro spoke up. "He will attack again. His energy field to power the pyramids will definitely be functional in two days. We actually arrived at the Science Police building two days in the future. The building was empty and the energy field was in place. It recognized our mutant signatures and attacked Lalo as a non mutant. We did not actually see Apocalypse at that time, however."

"Puhhaps, y'all should make an appearance at this parade. Mebbe, if y'all would explain what is happenin, the rest of the mutants of this time would join y'all to help us stop him," Rogue said. "Lord knows weh need all the help weh can git."

"That sounds like a good idea, Rogue," Mon El replied. "However, before we do that, I need to deputize each of you so that you will have authority to act with the Legion as Science Police Officers."

"Mon, we probably should also take the step of offering Legion flight rings to each of the X-Men, Ms. Marvel, and the Applicants, Scarlett Maximoff, Lana Lang and Pete Ross. they will be able to act as full fledged Legionnaires during this time of Crisis. Having the flight rings will allow us to better protect them during the battle," Super Boy said.

Saturn Girl quickly agreed with Super Boy. After a few minutes of discussion, it was decided that each of them would be accorded the status of temporary Legionnaires. "Raise your right hands and repeat after me, "I pledge always to use my super-powers only for the good of all people, and never for selfish purposes or expecting financial reward, and to do my best to aid fellow Legionnaires who are in peril"" Mon El told them.

As each of the applicants and X-Men repeated the oath, Mon El, Saturn Girl and Super Girl began handing them their new Legion flight Rings. Once, that was done, and congratulations were issued, Mon El Spoke again. "I hereby deputize each of you as members of the Science Police, giving you full authority to act as law enforcement officers here in the 31st century. Your Legion flight rings are universally recognized as having that authority. Wear your rings with pride, Legionnaires. Now let's go to that parade."

As the legionnaires, both old and new, began to filter out of the meeting room, a new group of heroes arrived. They were all wearing old legion Flight belts. It was the Legion of Substitute Heroes. "We are here to help Legionnaires. We received Shrinking Violet's priority one message. What is going on?" asked Night Girl.

Super girl quickly explained about Apocalypse and the presence of the X-Men. Then she said, "Right now, we are going to the Mutant Independence Day parade to make these facts known to the mutant population. Hopefully, they will help."

As they left the Legion Headquarters, a crowd had been gathering. Suddenly a cheer went up from the crowd. It occurred as the X-men were the ones leaving the Legion building. No one in the crowd knew it was really the X-Men but they were cheering anyway because of what the uniforms represented. Many thought they were people who had chosen to dress as the mutant Heroes. The Legionnaires joined in the parade to pay tribute to mutants. When they arrived at city hall, the Legionnaires listened politely to the speeches. Finally, when the last speaker was finished, Super Girl approached the podium. "Mr. Speaker, can I say a few words?" The speaker readily agreed. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Super Girl of the Legion of Superheroes has asked to address you. Please listen to her."

Super Girl stepped to the podium. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Mutant population. I bid you all welcome. I have some new that is important to each of you. First, I would like to welcome some visitors to the 31st Century. Many of you have heard tales of this group of heroes. They are guests of the Legion and will be joining the Legion in a very important mission. I urge you all to give a warm 31st century welcome to The X-Men. Cyclops, Ice Man, Shadow Cat, Night Crawler, Jean Grey, also known as the original Phoenix, Avalanche, Colossus, Rogue, Pyro, Ms Marvel, Quicksilver, Gambit, Wanda The Scarlet Witch, Forge and Qpid. I am also pleased to announce three new Legionnaires, one of whom is well known to all of you. Scarlett Maximoff, our own Scarlett Witch, is a mutant from right here in Metropolis. The other two are The Andalite twins, Insect Queen and El Fangor. And now the Legion would like all of you to help us in any way possible. The very important mission that the X-Men are here to help us with also has a lot to do with the reason you are gathered here today. I hate to be the bearer of Bad news, but Apocalypse has returned to menace Earth. It is for that reason that I urge all of you to be vigilant and help the Legion. Your freedom and the freedom of all humanity is too important to allow him to enslave us."

At this moment, Scarlett chose to approach the podium. "My fellow mutants, what Super Girl has said is true. I have personally seen the presence of Apocalypse. He has already tried to attack us and was temporarily thwarted. Each of us has our own special abilities. We must use them to preserve the freedom we treasure. Apocalypse must not be allowed to utilize our talents against humanity. We must resist him at all costs." As Scarlett spoke her voice grew louder and more passionate. When she had finished, a murmur went up from the crowd. "Apocalypse is back." Finally, the leader of the community came back to the podium. "Thank you for the kind words and the warning, Legionnaires. Our people will be honored to assist the Legion and The X-Men in this endeavor. And congratulations to you, Scarlett, on becoming a Legionnaire."

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Metropolis, Apocalypse had finished linking the ships power sources together. Now all that remained was the elimination of the Legion of Super Heroes so that he could enslave the remainder of the world. To this end, he set out to learn what he could about his new foe. He quickly realized they were not mutants at all but aliens from many diverse cultures. Apocalypse realized why the Time Trapper had not revealed this information to him. The Legion was a very powerful group. So powerful and diverse in fact, that the Time trapper and Mordru were never able to fully eliminate them. Battling the X-Men and the Phoenix would be a cakewalk compared to the daunting task ahead of him. He also realized that his horsemen were not properly suited to deal with the Legionnaires. He would need some true mutant followers to add to his four horsemen. He had no problems with Mesmero or New Dark Phoenix V's abilities. However, the inhuman girl and her husband lacked the seriousness needed to be enslavers of the universe. After finishing his cursory examination of the Legion's history, Apocalypse turned his attention to finding mutants in this time period who would be able to work with him. He was looking for descendants of mutants like Mr. Sinister and Mastermind, psychics who could manipulate their foes and exploit their weaknesses to the benefit of Apocalypse. Unfortunately, neither of those two men had any ancestors in this time period. Their family lines had both perished with the demise of both men. He considered traveling back in time to get them but decided against doing so. While he was pondering his new colleagues, he started up his power grid. In two days, it would be fully operational.

****

Well, what do you think. The battle is coming. What surprises will Apocalypse face? What about the X-Men and the Legionnaires? Stay tuned. And Don't forget The Time Trapper, Mordru, and Universo. Each still has a major part to play in the coming battle. Please review. The button is there for you. Use it.


	10. Battle Plans

**__**

END OF THE WORLD

CHAPTER TEN

BATTLE PLANS

The Legionnaires and X-Men returned to the Legion headquarters and began planning how to defeat Apocalypse. Scott Summers and Jean Grey were paying very close attention to Mon El and Super Girl as they laid out the strategy. Rond Vidar had suggested that they might need to use the same sort of strategy they would employ against Mordru. Like Mordru, Apocalypse is powerless if entombed. At this point, Jean Grey spoke up. "Entombing him won't be easy. Apocalypse is in possession of every mutant ability known, including extremely high telepathic abilities. He also has a high level of intuition."

"Thank you, Jean," Mon El said. "Rond, we are well versed on Apocalypse. What can you tell us about the other four mutants with him? They are formidable in their own right."

Rond cleared his throat. The four horsemen of Apocalypse are a very dangerous group. Three of them are very powerful mutants. One is Sebastian Morrison Summers, also known as Cyclops II. He is a direct descendant of Scott Summers and Jean Grey and he has the same abilities as Scott does. His sister, Jean Grey Summers, is a telepath like her namesake. Additionally, she is the current holder of the Phoenix Force. She is very prone to violent outbursts and has been found to be responsible for as many as 500,000 deaths in one attack. As Phoenix V, she is able to wipe out entire cities. Her biggest problem is keeping control of her abilities. The third mutant in this group is known as Mesmero. He is a telepath who has long served Apocalypse. He was involved with Apocalypse when the X-Men first battled him. He was the one who provided the tools for Apocalypse to get free of his first imprisonment. As a super telepath, he is able to control peoples minds and their behaviors. The fourth member of the four horsemen is Crystal Amaquelin Maximoff Summers. She is currently married to Cyclops II. She is an inhuman with the ability to control the four ancient elements, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth in all of their manifestations. However, she can only utilize these forces for short periods of time. As Rond Vidar finished describing the four horsemen, there was silence in the room. Finally Rogue spoke up. "How do we entomb Apocalypse?"

"How did you do it before, Rogue?" asked Saturn Girl.

All eyes were on Rogue. She took a deep breath. "When we battled Apocalypse, I was able to temporarily shut down all power in the area, create a blackout if you wish, and Logan and I shut all the flaps. As we did so, his ship just disappeared through time. Then Logan destroyed the control console. Unfortunately, he is now back. That was not enough. Again I ask, How do we entomb him so that he never rises again?"

"We need to find a way to render him unconscious," said Element Lad. "Once he is unconscious, we can imprison him."

"I wonder what would happen if everyone of us hit him all at once with the full force of all of our combined powers," Brainiac 5 said, coldly.

The room went eerily quiet after Brainiac made his comment. Slowly, everyone turned their eyes towards Brainiac. Wanda was the first to speak. "Hitting him with all of our combined powers would cause an overload. It could possibly **KILL** Apocalypse. At the same time, all that destructive force could also wipe out all life on the entire planet."

Lightning Lad spoke up next. "That makes that plan unacceptable. Brainiac 5, I am surprised at you. You know the Legion Rule against killing."

"Relax, Lightning Lad. I was only thinking out loud. Unfortunately, Wanda is right. In all likelihood, such destructive forces would probably not only wipe out life on earth, it would also destroy the Earth as well," Brainiac said.

"There must be a way to defeat this guy," said Karate Kid. "Without violating the Legion code against killing him."

The group continued talking for several hours. Finally, Mon El decided to adjourn the meeting for the evening. "Let's all get some rest, folks," he said. "We will resume this discussion at 9:00 a.m. Super Boy, you have monitor duty. Shrinking Violet, will you show our guests to their quarters for the evening?"

All of the legionnaires filed out of the room and went to their quarters, except for Super Boy and Shrinking violet. Super Boy went to the monitor room, while Shrinking violet made her way over to where the X-Men were standing. Rogue and Kitty were assigned the first room. Next, Wanda and Jean were assigned to a room. Qpid and Ms Marvel were assigned a room together. Colossus was assigned a room with Night Crawler, while Gambit, Lance and Pietro were put together. Next were Pyro and IceMan and finally, Scott and Forge went into the last room. Once everyone was in their rooms, Super Boy secured the Legion building. No one could get into or out of the headquarters.

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Meanwhile, about ten miles outside of metropolis, Apocalypse was busy. His power web had begun forming around the planet. He began the process of setting up the evolutionary process which would transform all humanity into mindless mutant slaves. He knew very well that less than fifty percent of the population would survive the transformation process. He also began a behavior reinforcement program in the minds of his four horsemen. He was particularly concerned with the inhuman girl, Crystal and her husband, Cyclops II. Finally, he set his ship's computer to locate and evaluate mutants in this time period who would be able to help him. "By morning," thought Apocalypse, "All will be ready. The first phase of operation evolution is complete."

The next morning saw a bright and cheery day for the Legionnaires and for Apocalypse as well. Scott and Jean were the first of the X-Men/Legionnaires to wake up. Both of them were troubled by the facts that were presented. Clearly this battle would pit them both against two of their descendants. It would also force them to face a very dark period in their lives. The very recent battle between Jean, as The Phoenix, and her X-Men teammates was still fresh in everyone's mind. Scott and Jean both realized that it was Scott's unabashed love for Jean that allowed him to reach into her and resurrect the old Jean Grey and defeat the Phoenix. She still had the Phoenix Force inside her but she had learned to control it. The prospect of having to face that part of her again terrified Jean Grey. As Jean made her way out into the hall, they bumped into each other. Jean smiled at her boyfriend. "You having trouble sleeping, too, Scott?" Jean asked. Scott nodded. Through the psychic link they shared, both knew they were thinking about the same things. The happy couple wandered the halls of Legion Headquarters for a few minutes. AT the end of one hallway, they came to the Monitor Room. Here they found Super Boy watching the various monitors which allowed the Legion to keep track of happenings throughout the universe.

"Hi, Super Boy," Jean Grey Said when he looked up. "Is there anything exciting happening out there."

Super Boy turned around to face the pair who had entered the monitor room. "Nothing much happening throughout the universe," he replied. "The Guardians on OA have created a new group of Green Lantern Corps members. It looks like all the action is going to be here on good ol' earth. The universe is pretty quiet right now. I expect the action to be pretty fierce in the next few days though." Looking at the two X-Men members, he realized that they were clearly in love with each other. Seeing their joy at being together reminded him of Lana and Pete. He was still saddened to know that they had found each other and gotten married. Then he began to think about his future wife, Chloe. A smile crept across his face at the thought of his hyper, blonde friend back in Smallville. Turning his attention back to the two X-Men, he said "You two are up early. Difficulty sleeping or a serious case of Time Travel Lag?" he joked.

Scott cleared his throat. "We have both been thinking about the information Rond told us about Apocalypse's four horsemen. Two of those horsemen are our descendants, apparently. You should know that the battle between the X-Men and Jean as the malevolent Phoenix is still fresh in our minds. She nearly killed all of us. For us to have to face that power of awesome destruction so soon terrifies both of us. And this new holder of the Phoenix Force is even more deadly than Jean was. I would really like to not have to battle those two at all let alone in conjunction with Apocalypse."

Super Boy looked at the two X-Men. "You will probably not be assigned to take them on, at least at first. It is likely, that Saturn Girl and either Ultra Boy or Wildfire would take on those two at first. Unfortunately, battles between the Legion and intergalactic despots have a way of evolving into the type of confrontations we do not like to face. Once, even my cousin , Super Girl, had to battle a super being created from the very darkest depths of her own soul. Ultimately, my cousin's goodness prevailed over her dark counterpart. I have no doubt that if either or both of you are forced to confront your two descendants, you will pass the test with flying colors. I can feel the strength of your love together. There is nothing to worry about."

Scott and Jean were somewhat reassured by his words. At the same time they realized that this was still a perilous time for all of them. Jean also realized that the very fact that they had mutant descendants meant good things for them as a couple. Scott also realized that he and Jean were destined to be together as a married couple. A smile crossed both of their faces at the same time. They would be able to get through this battle.

"Oh, look," Super Boy said going to the window. "The sun is rising over Metropolis. The Two X-Men members smiled at the romantic sight.

Meanwhile, other Legionnaires were starting to get up. Gambit and Lance had awakened. Lance looked around. At first he thought, "this must be a danger room session, at the beginning," As the sleep cleared from his mind, Lance remembered that they were now in the 31st century. Gambit had left the room. In the hall he quite literally bumped into Phantom Girl. She had just materialized from her phantom form after leaving her room.

"Pardonnez moi, mademoiselle," the empathic cajun said with a grin. He took her hand and kissed it. "T' What does Remy owe de honor o' meetin' such a jolie fille dis early in de mornin' ?"

"Merci, beaucoup, Monsieur LeBeau. The pleasure is all mine. Je mappelle Tinya Wazoo. My friends call me Tinya," she said as she batted her eyes at him.

Rogue and Kitty walked into the hall at that precise moment. Remy noticed and a grin appeared on his features. "Y'll have t' fo'give Remy, p'tie, but Remy's angè be awaitin'." He gently kissed the back of her knuckles and moved toward the two X-girls.

Phantom Girl quickly measured the approaching girls disdainfully. "Oh, I didn't realize you had a girlfriend..." She locked her eyes on Kitty, deeming her as Remy's girlfriend. "Isn't she a bit, young for you?"

"Course not." Remy chuckled. "Bon matin Chère," He smiled. "Remy, trust y' slept bon, even wit'out Remy by yo' side?"

Rogue rolled her eyes but Kitty gave each of the southerners an amused look before giggling softly.

"Remy, are you, like, flirting with everyone again?" Kitty asked, trying to seem serious but she was still smiling.

"Flirt? Remy!" He asked in mock shock. He placed a hand over his heart. "Dat hurt Kitty, dat hurt. Remy LeBeau flirt! De scandal!"

"Drama King." Rogue drawled under her breath.

"I don't think you should, like, be doing that." Kitty warned.

"We just bumped into each other and were introducing ourselves." Phantom Girl grinned smugly, believing she had flustered Kitty. "It was completely innocent, and I didn't realize somebody such as yourself had already lay claim on him, Kitty."

Kitty blinked in surprise and blushed lightly. "Oh! He's not MY boyfriend!" She laughed and Phantom Girl raised an eyebrow. "I'm, like, perfectly happy with Lance thank you very much. Remy's girlfriend is Rogue, not me!"

"Well then perhaps you should mind your own business, then." Phantom Girl said coyly.

Rogue shot daggers at Kitty. "Shut yo' mouth Kit." She snapped before turning back to the other girl.

Phantom Girl gave Rogue an appraising look and snorted in mirth and clear amusement. Obviously Rogue did not rank as a threat to her.

"Well, who would have guessed?" She drawled airily.

"An' jus' what is that sposed to mean?" Rogue's eyebrows shot up. "What, ya don' think someone like him would ever date someone lahke meh?" Kitty gulped, and Remy looked a bit nervous, realizing that the deliberate thickening of her accent usually accompanied a sweeter tone of voice but with Rogue that meant she was in one of her moods and everyone nearby was at risk.

"I didn't say that." Phantom Girl smirked softly, her tone clearly implying that she meant it though.

Rogue matched Phantom Girl's smirk with an impish one of her own. She stepped haughtily past her, getting what could be viewed as dangerously close to Remy. She grinned at his brief look of surprise as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer.

He uncertainly embraced her in return, completely not expecting her to lean up on her toes to seal the six or so inch difference in their heights and quickly place a delicate kiss on his lips. The surprise registered in the black and red orbs was absolutely priceless though he wasted no time, to grin and return the fleeting yet gentle kiss.

Rogue smirked at Phantom Girl. "Ya were suggestin' what, again, darlin'?"

Phantom Girl merely shrugged it off. "Not like I care that much. I was just on my way to visit my own boyfriend, truth be told."

By now the hallway had been filled with Legionnaires and X-Men coming out of their rooms to see what all the fuss was about. Lance saw Rogue and Phantom Girl silently glowering at each other, while Kitty stood there as if struck dumb with her mouth hanging slightly open and huge shock in her pretty blue eyes. Lance quickly walked over to Kitty and put his arms around her. "What's wrong, Pretty-Kitty?"

"She...Rogue just..." Kitty seemed unable to finish a sentence.

"What?" Lance asked in concern with a quick glance toward Rogue.

Kitty squealed in happiness. "This is, like, absolutely perfect! Rogue, way to go!"

"Calm down, Kitty. Could you at least tell me what's going on?" Lance asked cautiously.

"Them!" Kitty squealed again, pointing at Rogue and Remy.

"Uh, Kitty, we aren't exactly here to start soap opera romances. So you can be happy for them, which I'd actually rather you not...but you guys are causing a scene...and we're in a war right now so the squealing can be mistaken for screaming." he reminded her. At the same time, Ultra Boy made his way into the crowd and wrapped his arms around Tinya. "Causing trouble again, luv," he whispered in her ear, half joking.

Phantom Girl smiled at Ultra Boy. "Not really darling. This was just a simple misunderstanding between Rogue, Shadowcat, and I." Then she explained what happened.

Kitty blushed a little but Rogue put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Ah want ta thank ya for defending mah honah, Kitty. An' Ah'm glad ya happy, an Ah know ya gonna want answers but that'll just hafta wait a lil okay?"

When Kitty nodded, she turned to Remy who was looking mighty pleased with himself and the recent events. "An' you...not one single word." She warned. "Got it? Not a single word."

Remy shrugged and nodded,

"Sugah, ya'd better watch wheah ya goin a little betta. Ya just might tangle with the wrong legionnaiah. Ah would hate fo' ya ta end up the victim of somebody's powers on accounta anotha misundastanding," she smiled as he nodded slowly.

"No hahd feelings, right, Phantom Girl?" she asked as she extended her ungloved hand in a gesture of peace.

All of the X-Men gasped as they saw Rogue reach out to shake Phantom Girl's hand. None of them were aware that Saturn Girl had been able to give her the ability to touch. They thought that Phantom Girl was about to be put in a coma. Kurt tried to teleport himself between the two girls as Phantom Girl began to accept Rogue's hand. He was too late. They shook hands and to everyone's amazement, Phantom Girl was still standing when they released the handshake. Rogue smiled at her teammates.

As the crowd began to disperse, Scott and Jean rounded the corner. Unaware of what had transpired, they saw only the handshake as it was about to happen. Quickly, Jean tried to insert a psychic shield between her teammate and the legionnaire. She was also too late. As the two released her handshake, Jean turned to Rogue and began to berate her. As she began to yell at her, Rogue turned to her teammate and said "Would ya please just shut up, Jean? Ah know what Ah'm doin." She held up her hands. "Look miss prissy face. Ah'm not wearing mah gloves. Would ya like ta bet whether Ah could still put you in a coma if ah want ta? Consider yaself lucky that Ah don't want any mo of ya insahd my head," she said angrily. "As Phantom Girl told mah deah friend, Kitty, 'Mind ya own business.'"

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Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Metropolis, Apocalypse was busily checking his data on his computer. His power web was nearly completed. A wry smile came across the super mutant's face. His reprogramming of his four horsemen was also complete. Finally, he observed a printout listing all of the mutants currently in the 31st Century. To his surprise, he found the names of many of his old foes, the X-Men, on the list. He also found a couple of names which had the status of legionnaire next to their names. Qpid or Carmen Rodriguez was intriguing to him. Scarlett Maximoff was one he considered to be very dangerous. As he studied her profile, he came to the conclusion that she was a lot like Rogue. He had tried to manipulate Rogue many times in the past and could never quite overcome her fierce resistance. Would he be able to turn either of these mutants? Only time would tell.

Suddenly, a glowing sphere appeared before him. Apocalypse looked amused as the Time Trapper and Universo appeared before him in his resting chamber. Universo was wearing some kind of metallic helmet which prevented his mental telepathy or mind reading abilities from reaching into Universo's mind. At the same time that they arrived from the End of Time, there was suddenly a violent earthquake. This earthquake would show a reading of 11.5 on the Richter scale. The net result was a volcanic explosion as the top of a mountain exploded and blew apart. This was no ordinary mountain, however. It had been the mountain which the legionnaires had created to contain Mordru the Merciless. Soon, Mordru himself also appeared at the impromptu gathering of history's most powerful villains.

"Free at last," roared Mordru. "It is time to have my revenge on the accursed Legion of Super Dolts which imprisoned me." The all powerful wizard stopped himself short when he saw the Time Trapper and Apocalypse. His gaze got very angry looking when he saw The Time Trapper. He remembered the last time the two had paired together to defeat the Legion. As Mordru was about to be entombed in the mountain, the last thing he saw was the Time Trapper and Universo fleeing to the end of time. "I should destroy you where you stand," he roared. As he gathered up the forces of dark sorcery to hurl at The Time Trapper, Mordru was stopped by Apocalypse.

"You must be Mordru," the super mutant said holding up his hand. We will work together to destroy our common foe. Then we will rule the entire universe. _And I will destroy you and this coward, the Time Trapper, he thought silently. Nothing will then stand in my way_.

Mordru looked at Apocalypse. "Who are you and why have you summoned the dark lord?" The master mage felt Apocalypse enter his mind.

"I am your master, Mordru. You will work with me to destroy the Legion of Super Heroes," Apocalypse thought projected to the wizard. "Oppose me at your peril, wizard."

Mordru glared at Apocalypse. "I call no one master, mutant," he spat. "Mordru the Merciless serves no one but himself. I am the all powerful Mordru, conqueror of the universe, feared by all."

At this point, the Time Trapper spoke up. "It was not Apocalypse who summoned you. I am the one who caused the earthquake that released you. Like Apocalypse said, we will work together to destroy the Legion of Super Heroes and then we will rule the entire universe in all timelines."

Turning to Apocalypse, the Time trapper asked a question. "How many of the legionnaires have you killed in your first attack?"

Apocalypse laughed. "I was not trying to kill any of them yet. So None of them are dead. It is unfortunate that you did not choose to enlighten me about all of their abilities and origins. Our first skirmish was just that, an indecisive encounter that was designed to give my horsemen and me a chance to reconnoiter our foe. The real battle has yet to begin. I was just examining some additional options when you interrupted me. Since you are here we may as well strategize our next move. I am sure that your little earthquake and volcanic explosion to release our powerful comrade here did not go unnoticed by the Legion or the X-Men who have journeyed through time to join them."

The Time Trapper was shocked by the words and laughter of Apocalypse. "What do you mean, the X-Men have joined the Legion?" he asked incredulously.

Don't be so surprised," Apocalypse laughed. "It makes this battle a bit more fun for us. You told me yourself that the Legion was a resourceful group. I not only anticipated such a move but am welcoming it. Are we not the three most powerful beings of all time. We have nothing to fear. Our victory is assured."

Mordru watched the exchange with interest. He had calmed down considerably since he had arrived. The dark lord began to gather all the dark energy around him. He could feel his magic becoming stronger. Soon he would be ready to take on the Legion. He also realized that the four of them along with Apocalypse's four horsemen would have to coordinate their attacks to best be able to defeat the Legion and X-Men combination.

Apocalypse released his four horsemen from their restraints. They all came into the room and were introduced to Universo, Mordru and the Time Trapper. Phoenix V looked at their guests. Being a major telepath, she wanted to read their minds. She was unable to penetrate the Psychic Helmet Shield of Universo. Mordru also shrouded his mind from her telepathy. When she entered the Mind of the Time Trapper, she found a confusing mess of disconnected events. It was as if he did not want her to see his mental processes. Finally, she left the room and went outside to wait with her fellow horsemen. As she was mentally scanning the area, she picked up the mental vibrations of another mutant telepath. It was a young mutant girl named Charlene. Charlene could trace her ancestry to a very powerful telepath, one Emma Frost, the White Queen. Phoenix V probed the young girl's mind from a distance. She grinned when she realized that the young girl was inexperienced with her powers. Phoenix V waited until the young girl had wandered much closer to her before springing her trap. Suddenly, with a very loud scream, Phoenix sent a powerful psychic blast directly at the young mutant. The powerful blast knocked the young girl to the ground. As she struggled to raise herself, Charlene felt Phoenix V begin taunting her. Quickly, she realized that Phoenix was a powerful mutant. Instantly, she erected her psychic shields. Then she fired off a psychic blast of her own. Soon she was face to face with Phoenix V. The battle did not last long. Soon, Charlene's inexperience began to show. As blast after psychic blast continuously rocked her very being, she soon began to tire. Her thoughts grew weaker and weaker. It was not long before she could no longer keep up her psychic shields. Phoenix V strode up the young girl. She wanted to see her victim as she killed her. To her surprise, the girl looked to be no more than twelve years old. Charlene was nearly unconscious as she saw the Phoenix approach her. Reaching deep within her young soul, she drew on her waning strength and sent one last psychic blast at Phoenix. The powerful blast knocked Phoenix back about ten yards. She also sent a psychic message to her father, the mayor of Metropolis warning him about Phoenix. Then she slipped into unconsciousness. It was probably better for her that she did so because she did not see Phoenix approach her with a cold smile on her face. As she drew over the body of the now unconscious girl, she formed a psychic psionic blade in her hands. Quickly and repeatedly she made several cuts and stabbing slashes all over the girl. Silently, she watched as Charlene's blood gushed from her now lifeless body. Suddenly a demonic laughter erupted from Phoenix and was heard all the way to Metropolis. It sent cold shivers through all who heard it.

In Metropolis, the mayor felt his daughter's struggle and violent death. He had received her message about the Phoenix. As their psychic link was violently shattered and ripped by his daughter's murder at the hands of the cold blooded Phoenix, the Mayor sadly began to make his way over to City Hall. He had to make an announcement regarding the impending battle. He also opened a channel to the Legion. He silently punched the buttons to allow him to access the airwaves of Metropolis. "My fellow citizens, I have grave news to report. Our fair city of metropolis is facing a peril far greater than any ever seen before. It has come to my attention, that the Super Mutant, Apocalypse has arrived at our city. He is trying to take us over and create mutant slaves. My fellow Mutants, I can not urge enough caution with Apocalypse or his horsemen. According to the Legion of Super Heroes, and our own Scarlett Maximoff, Apocalypse has been seen. One of his four horsemen is a mutant telepath named Phoenix V. According to information gathered by the Legion and The Time Institute, this mutant is a very vicious and evil being. I can attest to the truth of this. I received a message from my daughter who had been battling her. The psychic link my daughter and I shared has been irreparably broken. Charlene was killed by this Phoenix V. It was a very violent end for her. I urge all mutants to now join with the Legion in an attempt to defeat these monsters who so callously murder children." When the mayor finished his announcement, he turned away from the microphone and began crying over his lost daughter.

The Legionnaires were stunned by the mayor's announcement. Jean Grey was also shocked. Mon El hastily called the Legionnaires into emergency session. "Saturn Girl, Super Girl and Ultra Boy, I need you to go claim the young girl's body for her family. We will honor her sacrifice by offering to bury her in Shanghalla, the cemetery of heroes, with full Legion honors. I can't urge you enough to be very careful. The battle has begun."

At this moment, Scott Summers spoke. "With your permission, Mon El, we would like to accompany your contingent and also honor the sacrifice of this young girl." Turning to Jean, he said, "Jean, you and I and Qpid will go with the Legionnaires. It is the least we can do. Qpid, with her Super Speed and Invisibility, should be able to retrieve the body. I need you, Jean, in case we encounter Phoenix V. Only you can counter the power of the Phoenix force."

Mon El quickly agreed to Scott's request. "Once again, I must urge caution. We need you all to come back alive."

Brainiac 5 went over to Super Girl. "Don't forget about your force field belt, Kara. Remember it can be expanded to cover all of you. Use it. We will need all of you in this battle." Then he kissed her goodbye. As he turned away, Super Girl looked to see her sister coming over to her. "Take care of yourself, big sister." Carol Danvers said. "I need you"

The chosen Legionnaires and X-Men took off . Using her Telescopic vision, Super Girl quickly found the body of young Charlene. Despite her best efforts, she could not stifle her gasp of pure shock upon seeing the mutilated body, even at a distance. Soon the legionnaires arrived where Charlene lay. As Ultra Boy, Cyclops, Jean and Saturn Girl looked on, Super Girl and Qpid quickly gathered up the body. Super Girl used her cape to wrap the body. Then she handed the corpse to Qpid who then turned invisible and rushed the body back to Legion headquarters. The rest followed without incident. The whole operation was over within forty five minutes. The legionnaires did not go unnoticed, however. Phoenix V was watching them. She could not believe the mad rage she had been in when she sensed the young mutant girl. The memory of her battle was playing itself out over and over again in her mind. Now that it was over, the battle seemed like a distant memory of an old horror movie. She felt absolutely horrible at how she had murdered the young mutant. These feelings were not new to her either. Ever since the Phoenix Force had taken over her body as a young teenager, she was prone to fits of insane rage which were always followed by extreme bouts of depression and guilt. Now she was keeping watch over the body of the young girl she had so brutally mutilated. She sensed the presence of the Legionnaires and X-Men as they approached. She also sensed that while these 6 people were teenagers, they were all very experienced with their powers. Two of the group were extreme high level telepaths. Watching the group go about their macabre mission, she decided to hide herself from them. She did not want to bring this group after her at this time nor did she want to expose Apocalypse's base of operations to them. As the Legionnaires came near her she had to suppress a gasp of surprise. Standing before her about 20 yards away was a girl who could have been her twin. That person was none other than Jean Grey. She wanted to search the girl's mind but decided not to in order to protect her own secret hiding place. Finally, the Legionnaires finished their gruesome task and left, carrying the body of the young mutant girl away. Phoenix V wept as the horrors which she had done finally hit her like a wagonload of boulders.

When the Legionnaires returned to Legion Headquarters, Mon El contacted the mayor. "Mr. Mayor," he said, "The legionnaires and I wish to express our deepest sympathy at the loss suffered by you and your family and the mutant community as well. We would like you to know that we have recovered your daughter's body for you. The Legion would like to make you an offer. We would be willing to bury her at Shanghalla with full Legion honors. Shanghalla is the cemetery of fallen heroes. Charlene would be buried alongside other Legionnaires who have fallen in battle."

Mon El continued his offer. "The Legion will pay all of your family's expenses for the funeral and will also pay to have the funeral televised through out the universe so that all will know of your daughter's sacrifice and heroism."

The mayor was astounded to hear Mon El's offer. The Legion was going out of their way to help him and his family with their loss. He never would have imagined his daughter being buried alongside Legionnaires with full Legion Honors. He had never been a big supporter of the Legion before but now he found a new level of respect for them.

As the mayor was pondering the Legion's offer regarding his daughter, a strange thing began happening throughout Metropolis and all over the planet. High in the sky, strange energy beams began crisscrossing and surrounding the planet. Apocalypse's energy web was beginning to form. Many of the world's mutants saw the energy web and began to be afraid. They had only heard tales passed down through generations of Apocalypse's attempted conquests of the world. Now they were about to see it for themselves. Throughout Metropolis, many of the mutants were joining together to protect themselves from Apocalypse. If Apocalypse wanted a fight, he was going to get one from the mutants of Metropolis.

The mayor looked at the sky and made up his mind. He would accept the Legion's offer. As he relayed this information to the citizens of Metropolis and to the Legion, he realized that his daughter's funeral would become an intergalactic event. Mon El and Super Girl began setting up the funeral arrangements. Because of the uncertainty surrounding the intentions of Apocalypse, they decided to have the funeral the next morning. Princess Projectra and Karate Kid would be presiding over the ceremony. Super Boy, Marvel Girl, and both of the Scarlett Witches were dispatched to the Mayor's home to gather his family and friends who would be going to the cemetery to bring them to Legion HQ.

As the preparations continued for Charlene's funeral, the Legionnaires noticed a crowd gathering outside their headquarters. Saturn Girl went outside to see what was going on. She saw a thousand people gathered together. Each was carrying a single lit candle. Legion headquarters had become the sight of a massive mutant candlelight vigil for their fallen friend. Saturn Girl was impressed. All of a sudden, one of the younger mutants pressed forward. "Saturn Girl, we have come to pay our respects to the young mutant, Charlene. She was one of us. She was one of my closest friends. I want you to know that even though I am young, I want to use my mutant abilities to help the Legion put a stop to this menace. We all do."

"What is your name, young man?" Saturn Girl asked.

"My name is Jean Luc Henri. But my friends call me Quicksand. My power is the ability to change solid things into mush which no one can stand on. Charlene was my best friend. I really cared for her. Apocalypse will pay for what he has done to her."

The other mutants also murmured their agreement. Each and every one of them had pledged to help the legionnaires. As the candlelight vigil continued, more and more people showed up. A lot of these people were not even mutants. They were ordinary people who believed in the cause of freedom and wanted to help in any way they could. Saturn Girl had been joined by several of the X-Men and several legionnaires. All of them were surprised and excited by the unity being showed by their community. Additionally, the mutants were banding together. Many of them had formed a team called X Factor. Their costumes were very similar in nature to those of the X-Men.

At dawn, the next morning, the legionnaires and hordes of mutants made their way to Shanghalla. Charlene's body was in a closed casket. Princess Projectra and Karate Kid stepped forward to the pulpit. "Please be seated, folks," Projectra began. "We are gathered today to honor the memory of a young girl. Charlene Watson was a mutant telepath. Her father is the Mayor of Metropolis. Even though we never met this girl, the cause for which she fought is one that unites us all. She will always be remembered as a bright young woman who was the first casualty in this newest war for freedom. This time, the fate of the universe and time itself is at stake. Her death may have been a senseless and tragic murder but we can't let it become one without meaning. I have seen several of her friends come up to Legionnaires and tell us that they are willing to help in any way possible. Most of these youngsters have asked us to let them join in the battle to avenge their young friend. Charlene's death has also served a more noble purpose. It has united the mutant community in a way that many would not have thought to be possible. Often times, the mutant community is not given much consideration. Charlene's death can help change the perception that the mutant community is divided and unimportant. In this time of turmoil, it is good to remember Charlene. She is being honored as a hero should be honored. Look around you. There are several Legionnaires buried here. Charlene is being accorded the same rights as our fallen comrades. I have no doubt that should she have lived, Charlene would have made a wonderful Legionnaire. She was already known as a great friend to all who had the pleasure of knowing her. Every legionnaire who is buried here has a life size statute at their grave site. A bunch of legionnaires have stayed up all night to prepare Charlene's statue. One of these legionnaires is Karate Kid, my husband. Chameleon Kid took a photo of Charlene and assumed her shape so that Karate Kid. Mon El, Ultra lad, Super Boy and Super Girl could carve her statue. I have seen the statue and so will you soon. I believe that it captures the essence of this beautiful young woman who has sacrificed her life in the cause of freedom and honor for all mutants."

At this moment, Karate Kid stepped forward. "Charlene Watson, you never had the chance to live. Because you have died so young in such a horrific manner, fighting for justice and honor, We honor your presence here in this hallowed place. You are truly a hero and deserving of such honor. I place an eternal flame here for you so that the universe may know of your sacrifice and that it was not made in vain." When he had finished speaking, Karate Kid lit the eternal flame at the base of the monument, then he unveiled the statue of Charlene Watson. The crowd gasped. It looked like she was standing among them. One by one, each legionnaire came to the statue. As a group they all knelt down. "Let us Pray," said Princess Projectra. "Our father, who art in heaven, we commend the body of Charlene to its eternal rest. We ask that you guide her to an eternal reward of peace in your presence. Let us not forget her sacrifice, oh Lord, we pray in your Son's name. Amen" Each of the legionnaires filed past Charlene's casket and statue. They were followed by the X-Men and Charlene's friends. Finally, the rest of the mourners filed past.

Once the procession had moved past the statue, the base of the monument was opened and her casket was rolled inside the crypt. Then the tomb was closed and sealed. As a finishing touch, Element lad changed the composition of the front of the monument. When he was done, Mon El took a replica of a Legion Flight ring and inserted it face out into the monument. then Element Lad changed the composition back to a solid marble and granite column. The gold "L" would signify that a Legionnaire was buried there. Carol Danvers stepped forward to honor the fallen hero. Using her heat vision, she engraved the name Charlene Watson into the column. Super Girl then carved these words under the name: "A true friend and a great hero. Let not her sacrifice be in vain for the cause of freedom for all is the most noble cause there is." Finally, Super Boy engraved the years of her birth and her death. At this moment, a plaque bearing the same information and another replica of a Legion flight ring was presented to Charlene's parents. A tri folded Legion of Super Heroes flag was also presented to them. At that moment, back at Legion headquarters, the Flags of the United Planets, the Legion of Super Heroes, and the City of Metropolis were lowered to half staff. Mon El made an announcement: "There will be a reception at Legion Headquarters in honor of Charlene's sacrifice in one hour."

Charlene's funeral was over. All of the mourners left the cemetery and headed to the Legion headquarters building in Metropolis. When everyone had left, one person suddenly appeared at Charlene's Grave site. She was visibly weeping over the fallen young girl. It was none other than Phoenix V. She had come to pay her respects to her fallen foe. "I am sorry, Charlene," she whispered. "I could not help what I did." Then she left the cemetery and went back to Apocalypse.

Back at his base on the outskirts of Metropolis, Apocalypse was planning his means of attack on the Legion. "First, after my energy beams are completed and powered by the world's pyramids, my Horsemen and I will begin our initial attack on the science police building. Once all of the science police are destroyed, we will begin on attack on the Legion. The attack on the Legion will be a four pronged attack. Mordru will begin the attack on the Legion Headquarters. Once he has drawn the Legion out of their fortress, My four horsemen will begin their attacks on the X-Men component of the Legionnaires. Universo and the Time Trapper will then attack the Legionnaires with all of their abilities. I will begin the enslavement process of these puny humans. Once we have enslaved the non mutants we will have an army that the Legionnaires will not fight given that their sole purpose is to protect these humans at all costs. They are bound by a code that forbids the taking of life. We are not. Most of the humans will not survive the process which changes them into mutants but they are our expendable soldiers," Apocalypse said. "Remember the population of this puny planet is approximately 25 billion persons. Our army will still be sufficient to get rid of the Legion and the rest of the ones who will attempt to stop us."

"And when is this energy grid of yours supposed to be done, Apocalypse?" demanded Mordru. "How long must we wait to get rid of the accursed Legion and rule this puny planet?"

"Patience, Mordru. My energy grid will be complete by tomorrow morning. Surely we can wait one more day to own this world and then the universe."

Mordru appeared to calm down after the exchange. Reluctantly, he agreed to allow Apocalypse the time to finish his energy grid. No one noticed Universo slipping out of the room.

****

Okay, folks. If you are still confused on characters, there is some helpful info on a link in howlerdrode's profile page.

Just go to h t t p / w w w . f a n f i c t i o n . n e t / h o w l e r d r o d e (take out the spaces) for some character data on characters you may not be familiar with. Alright, The plans for the bad guys are in place. Let us know what you think. The war is about to start in earnest. You have seen the first shot fired. Stay tuned. Meanwhile use the little review button at the bottom of the page.


	11. The War Begins

**__**

END OF THE WORLD

CHAPTER 11

THE WAR BEGINS

The next morning dawned gray and gloomy. The sky was overcast. A cold wind whipped through the streets of Metropolis. The rain and wind pelted the few people out and about that morning. Apocalypse looked at the sky. He knew that his energy web was completed. It was powered and ready to go. Unfortunately, it would not be very helpful until the sky cleared a bit. His mutant sensors would have a hard time penetrating through the dense clouds. At the same time the people of earth could not see the extent of his energy web beams crisscrossing the earth. The good people of Metropolis would have no idea the danger they were facing. It may serve to keep them indoors and out of the battle. That would be good for Apocalypse, as that would mean less resistance. The Super mutant checked to see if everyone was in position. Mordru was outside of Metropolis preparing to launch an attack directly against Legion Headquarters. The Time Trapper and Universo were stationed at the Super Man Museum. Their explosives were timed to go off just outside the museum at approximately 06:30 a.m., in approximately 35 minutes. The idea was to detonate the explosives and bring the legionnaires out of their headquarters. Then Mordru would attack the headquarters with his magic in hopes of leveling the headquarters, killing anyone who remained inside. The four horsemen were supposed to aid in the attack on the X-Men and Legionnaires who responded to the explosions at the Superman Museum. Apocalypse was supposed to activate the energy beams and begin the process of transforming the entire human race into his mutant army. Then he would lead his minions to overthrow the world government and destroy the legionnaires.

Unbeknownst to Apocalypse, the Legionnaires and X-Men were fully prepared for this battle. During the evening, Universo had been able to send an exact recording of the group's battle plans to his son, Rond Vidar. Rond Vidar had forwarded the message to the legionnaires. At this very moment, Ultra Boy and Brainiac 5 were inside the Super Man Museum. Brainiac had hidden his force field belt outside and set the controls to protect the Museum. They had already found and deactivated the Time Trapper's bombs. Super Boy, Mon-El, Super Girl, Rogue, Colossus, and Ms. Marvel were standing guard at Legion Headquarters. The espionage squad, (Shrinking Violet, Invisible Kid, Chameleon Kid, Colossal Boy, Duo Damsel, and Phantom Girl) including two new members, Night Crawler, and Shadow Cat, were deep underground working with the group of mutants called X-Factor who had shown up during the night. Qpid, Saturn Girl, Shadow Lass, Cyclops and Gambit were stationed outside of Legion headquarters. Forge, Wild Fire, Pietro, and Iceman were actively working with the Legion of Substitute heroes as well as the young mutants who had volunteered to help in this epic battle. Their station was the Science Police building. Since Metropolis was earth's largest city, and the Legion expected the main battleground to be there, both Scarlett Witches along with Light Lass, Lightning Lad, Bouncing Boy, Blok and Cosmic Boy, Karate Kid and Jean Grey were trying to evacuate as many citizens of Metropolis as they could. The plan was to evacuate as many people as possible and then use the Legion's Phantom Zone Projector to put the city into the Phantom Zone. In this way the entire city could be protected. Mon-El knew that all of the criminals had been released to Rokyn custody. He also knew that most of the populace would not want to evacuate from their homes. He was hoping to prevent a lot of bloodshed and to thwart Apocalypse's plan to convert the humans to mutant slaves. Once Metropolis was safe, Super Boy and Super Girl as well as Ms. Marvel, would be dispatched to other cities around the globe to put them into the phantom zone as well. Avalanche, Star Boy, Dream Girl, Element Lad, Insect Queen, Elfangor and Princess Projectra were setting up traps in hopes of entombing both Mordru and Apocalypse. Princess Projectra had cast a series of illusions that served to conceal the whereabouts of all the legionnaires.

At 06:30 two dummy bombs placed by the legionnaires to replace the ones they had disarmed, went off. While they made a lot of noise, there was not any real damage done. Apocalypse heard the noise of the two bombs. That was the signal to begin the attack. When Super Girl heard the explosions, she activated her force field belt from Brainiac 5 to completely cover Legion headquarters. The force field settled around the building just in time. Mordru let loose with a devastating blast of his dark sorcery. At the same time, the four horsemen began their attacks. Cyclops II began using his powerful blasts against the science police building. As luck would have it, Forge had activated his force field belt as well. It started to shimmer and then suddenly went dark. For some reason, it did not work. As the first blast hit the building, People began pouring out of it. Iceman aimed a freezing blast at Cyclops II. Cyclops blew apart the freezing blast. Bobby tried again. This time Polar Boy joined him in trying to ice down Cyclops. Wild Fire joined them and aimed a blast of his pure star-born energy at the renegade mutant. The three legionnaires were concentrating with all their might and the blasts combined and got through his defenses to knock Cyclops II unconscious. Bobby then froze him in a block of ice and went to help finish evacuating the building. The popular symbol of justice was becoming very dangerous. A rumbling could be heard coming from underground, and the building began to sway and crumble around them. Wild Fire used his Legion flight Ring to inform Mon-El what was happening. There were several criminals imprisoned in the building and Wild Fire was worried that they might try to join Apocalypse.

Mon-El thought about the situation. "Saturn Girl, start the Phantom Zone sequence now!" He ordered. All of the legionnaires heard the order. It had been communicated through the Legion flight rings as top priority one. Instantly, they took flight to a height of 10,000 feet. Apocalypse saw the legionnaires take flight. He laughed. They were going above the clouds where he could utilize his energy web against them. He prepared to use the web's firing abilities. To do that however, he would have to pause his mutation program. _"Oh, well," _he thought. _"I can always mutate them and create my army after I have destroyed a few Legionnaires and X-Men." _Apocalypse hit the button to pause the mutation program. Then he began to fire energy blasts at the legionnaires. Using the web in this way required massive amounts of energy from the world's pyramids. This would also weaken his energy web. The legionnaires and X-Men all flew into the cloudbanks to seek protection. Apocalypse set the web to keep on firing and try to dispel the clouds. Suddenly, the entire sky got very dark. Shadow lass had used her power to its maximum in order to black out the sky. Just as she was beginning to tire and weaken, there was a green ray bathing the entire city below. Just as soon as it appeared, everyone in Metropolis looked up. Then everyone just disappeared. A few seconds later, the entire city also vanished. Super Boy, Super Girl and Ms. Marvel flew at super speed to where Saturn Girl was waiting with the Projector. Once they had it, they used a legion Time bubble to go through time and escape the energy web. Once outside the web, the group set time back to normal and headed for the moon. There the three Kryptonians set up a special satellite relay. They programmed this relay to hit every major city except Metropolis in rapid succession with the Phantom Zone Ray. Once they had put the relay into a low earth orbit, the three Legionnaires sped back to Earth.

Meanwhile back over the skies where Metropolis once stood, the clouds were beginning to disintegrate around the Legionnaires and X-Men. As this began to happen, the energy beams began to occur more frequently. Brainiac was trying to project his force field around as many Legionnaires as possible. However they were so spread out that he could not hope to catch them all.

Apocalypse was grinning. _"How futile their fight is,"_ he thought. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted. His computer began beeping very loudly. He had left his mutant tracking program running. He looked at the computer screen to his right. **_"That is impossible!" _**He screamed. His computer was telling him that the mutants of the world were all disappearing without as trace. So were the rest of the humans on the puny planet. He quickly scanned the entire planet. _"There must be a glitch in the program,"_ the super mutant thought. _How can the entire population of a planet just vanish? Especially since he had shut off his mutation program. _As Apocalypse pondered what was happening, The X-Men and Legionnaires had regrouped. The three Kryptonians had returned and reports were coming in about the disappearance of the world's population centers. Slowly, All of the Legionnaires and X-Men returned to the ground. With their cloud cover destroyed, there was no use remaining in the sky. The four super villains and the three remaining horsemen gathered together at the base of Apocalypse. Mordru had witnessed the disappearance of Metropolis and was extremely angry. He continued hurling massive bolts of his dark sorcery at the Legionnaires and the X-Men. Mon-El caught one of the bolts directly in the chest. As he fell from the sky, Super Boy rushed over to catch his best friend in the Legion. Miraculously, the hero from Daxam was not dead. Phoenix V had begun her part in the epic battle. She hurled a Psychic Blast directly at Rogue. Rogue, whose mental prowess was third to only Jean and The Professor among the X-Men, due in large part to the many times that she had absorbed Jean Grey and the Professor during countless battles, raised her psychic shields just in time and deflected the blast. Unfortunately, the blast ricocheted away and was caught in the vortex of a Chaos hex bolt from Wanda, catching Qpid right in the head.

The girl had a split second to look surprised before the blasts effect did its job, to the wrong victim. Her mind shattered from the assault and she fell to the ground, screaming. Her head seemed to explode from her body. Blood spattered everywhere. She died instantly. And she had never stood a chance.

A mournful cry joined the chaos and hysteria as Pietro watched his new girlfriend's horrible death. He collapsed to his knees, seemingly forgetting that this was a battlefield, that the universe and time itself were depending on the outcome of this struggle. He felt nauseas and realized that he had cared for her more than he ever had about any girl before, with the obvious exceptions of his mother and twin sister.

Wanda took a few steps forward mutely. She looked horrified, and tears leaked from her eyes in a similar fashion to those from her brother.

"I...I didn't mean to..." She murmured.

Pietro choked and blinked away his tears. He didn't know what to say, what to do, or why it hurt so much. He'd only just met the girl but he had obviously felt something a touch stronger than lust for her.

Rogue's eyes reflected pain as she approached. "That shoulda been me..."

Pietro closed his eyes, took a deep breath and did something he hadn't done in years. He prayed. He prayed that this was just a nightmare, that when he opened his eyes everything would be alright again. But he realized that it wasn't a dream, and he knew this whole mess would not come undone just by opening his eyes.

When he did open the pained blue orbs again, he couldn't train his eyes away from the gruesome sight that had previously been a very attractive girl. Her blood was everywhere, splattered on everything close.

Rogue looked faint. "That was meant fo' me...Ah'm so sorry Pietro."

He cast a mournful gaze on her. "What are we doing here? We're helpless! We should be at home, going to the mall and movies or something, not fighting in this stupid war!" He sobbed pathetically. This taste of war hurt, and made him regret every warlike TV show he'd ever watched; every fighting video game he'd ever played.

Wanda whimpered in agreement and buried her face in her hands. "This is all my fault!"

"Hush now," Rogue put a soothing hand on her friend's shoulder. "It ain' ya fault. An' don' ya dare even start Pietro. We could all blame ourselves, an' eachotha till the cows come home. But it ain' none of our faults, ya heah?"

"It was my hex bolt..." Wanda's face was ashen. "And I wanted her to get hurt. From the moment she was making rude comments in the store that one time. I wanted her hurt in an agonizing way...But even she doesn't deserve what she got! My powers altered the probability of what would happen..."

Pietro shook his head. "I was close enough...I could have gotten to her...if only I had been paying more attention."

Rogue pulled both of them into a pitying hug. "Guys, c'mon, we gotta pull ourselves tagetha...we're in the fight of our lives, an' mo'n just us hang in the balance. This is fo' all time an' it's the big one. We can mourn her after we win, but fo' now, we don' wan' her death to be in vain do we?"

Pietro took one last look at the disfiguration of the girl. "No. You're right." He mumbled quietly.

Quickly, he turned away from the grisly scene. Then something strange happened. A particle stream from her body came directly toward him. Pietro and Qpid were part of an extraordinary breed of mutants. Like the various manifestations of the Flash in the 20th Century, they were affected by the Super Speed Force. When one of them died, the Speed Force would exit that body and go to another manifestation of the Speed force. If one was not readily available, the stream would then enter into the first suitable human found. When the particle stream caught up with Pietro, it quickly engulfed his body and entered though his mouth and lungs. Pietro felt energized and began moving twice as fast as normal.

Rogue hid it well, but she was just as disturbed or more so than Wanda and Pietro in the way Carmen had died. She glared towards Pheonix V.

"Yo' goin' down!" She growled.

She unleashed a psychic blast of her own, followed by a Cyclops optic blast. Phoenix V raised her shields and caused a diamond like shell to appear around her person, protecting her from both of Rogue's assaults. The two continued to exchange blows with each other. Phoenix V was protected by her Shell, Rogue by her invulnerability from Ms. Marvel. The battle was nearly a draw, when Crystal Amaquelin Maximoff Summers joined her sister in law. She began to throw the force of the four elements at Rogue, all at once. Deflecting both villains powers was starting to wear Rogue down. Her defenses crumbling, her body weakened and tiring, She continued to battle with all her might.

Saturn Girl happened to look over and see Rogue's plight. Quickly, she sent a telepathic message to Jean Grey and Scarlett Maximoff to join her by Rogue. They arrived at Rogue's side just as she was ready to pass out from exhaustion.

"Hang in there Rogue." Jean reassured her teammate as Scarlet moved quickly to the girl's side to help her remain standing. "Let me take this from here."

With that she trained her own psychic powers toward her future descendent. "I won't allow you to hurt my friends!" She cried. Her body suddenly surged with an unfamiliar power. By all rights she should have been frightened as flame engulfed her body, but it didn't touch her. In fact, it felt warm and safe to Jean.

Phoenix V hesitated for a moment, realizing that now she wasn't the only one with the Phoenix force fighting in this battle.

"I can sense the conflict within you." Jean said calmly in a deep soothing voice, not her own. "You know what you and your colleagues are doing is wrong! You must desist!"

Phoenix V hesitated again. "You-You're wrong! This is right! There will be no more mutant persucution, no more hatred because we are different! Don't you understand?"

Jean shook her head. "I am Phoenix. I know all that has been, and all that will be. The fear and persecution is not pleasant, but there is a better method than this one. Turning all humans into mutant slaves is not the answer, and you know that as much as I do."

Phoenix V shrieked in frustration and sent a powerful blast toward the original embodiment of the Pheonix force. Jean threw up a psionic shield around her body and merely smiled. "We are a perfect match in terms of power. You cannot harm me, any more than I can hurt you. And even if either of us could, there is no point to this battle, and that is what is eating at your conscience."

Apocalypse's minion narrowed her eyes and sent repetitive psychic blasts at Jean. Each faded to nothingness and Jean-or rather the Phoenix force stood calmly. Saturn Girl made her way to Jean's side.

"You are weakening," Jean sighed. "My friend Saturn Girl could help me to make quick work of you, as she is nearly our equal in power. Submit to your conscience and surrender to the side your heart knows is right."

Phoenix V glanced warily at each of the telepaths. Jean levitated calmly and Saturn Girl struck a fighting pose. She was wearing down, tiring with each exertion of power. Apocalypse had boosted her powers, but she was no match for two people who both surpassed her amplified powers. With a cry of fury she burst into flame. Saturn Girl realized it was a smokescreen to enable Phoenix V to escape. She growled in frustration and bought her hands to her temples to search for their nemesis.

"Let her go, Saturn Girl." Jean said calmly. "She doubts what she does, and she will ponder her actions. She is already defeated, is that not the point of this war? To reach a peaceful end, rather than kill brutally and turn into the very threat we are trying to put an end to?"

"You are right." Saturn Girl nodded. "Sometimes, it is easy to forget one's goals and intentions in the face of war."

"War is a terrible thing. A dismal waste of life and energy. The worst thing any people can do." Phoenix said sadly.

"Just who exactly are you?" Saturn Girl asked softly. "You are very wise, and you fight with a much more civilized method than any I've seen in a long while."

Jean smiled. "I am the Phoenix Force. My purpose is simple. I must protect time, space, and the universe its self. I only appear when a people are in danger of destroying themselves and the fabric of time. This human girl is my vessel of choice at the current moment."

"Will Jean be alright?"

"She will be tired, but rest will cure that. She does not know of my presence at the current time, but if the timeline is fixed, I shall appear to her in about five years time."

Saturn Girl nodded, as if she understood what was going on.

"Now I shall release my hold on her. She is exhausted. Be sure to get her to safety. Good Luck."

With that Jean collapsed like a puppet without strings. Saturn girl managed to catch her as she fell and realized that she was unconscious. Saturn Girl called for the still-stunned Pietro.

He trotted over to her, still shaken by the gruesome death of Carmen.

"Take her to safety and hurry back. We need you."

He nodded and took Jean into his arms. He sped off and Saturn Girl turned her attention elsewhere.

Rogue had caught her breath and she and Scarlet had taken on the strawberry blond minion of Apocalypse, Crystal Amaquelin-Maximoff-Summers. Wanda had snapped from her state of sorrow and rushed to help.

"Hi Wanda." Crystal sneered and Wanda was startled and uncertain how this enemy knew her name. "How's my least favorite sister-in-law?"

Wanda was frozen to the spot with the relevation of what that one could possibly mean.

"Wanda, this ain' the time ta freeze!" Rogue called as the Elemental created a fierce gust of wind sweeping them around.

Crystal laughed cruelly. "Poor simple Wanda, it will be my pleasure to finally put an end to you. We never have gotten along very well."

"I've never met you!" Wanda cried. "I've never seen you in my life!"

"Oh you would, if you weren't going to die today, darling sister." Crystal spat. "It gives me the greatest pleasure to finish you off before I ever have the misfortune of meeting you." She sent a frigid burst of water towards the three mutants fighting her.

They coughed and spluttered and Crystal aimed a fireball towards Wanda with a malicious grin on her face. But suddenly the fireball was aimed at a different target. Pietro had zoomed in and was standing directly in front of his twin.

"You're-messing-with-the-wrong-guy's-sister-lady!" He trained a stun-gun he'd been issued at Legion HQ that morning towards her. "You-want-her-you'll-have-to-kill-me-first!"

"Pietro?" She appeared shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"Do-I-know-you?" Pietro raised an eyebrow.

She gasped and moved back as if she'd been slapped. "You should!" The hard cruelty was back in her eyes. "But no matter. Stand aside. My fight is with your sister, not you. Our differences have obviously been settled."

"I-don't-think-so." Pietro glowered. "I'm-not-gonna-let-you-at-Wanda-you-crazy-psycho!"

"That hurts Pietro." She frowned. "Cuts straight to the heart."

"Good." He smirked. "I-don't-know-who-the-Hell-you-are-so-I-don't-have-to-worry-about-hurting-your-feelings."

A tear appeared at the corner of her eye. "Just go away Pietro! I can't stand seeing you!" She hurled another gust of wind at the group. It caught Scarlet and Wanda and after lifting them into the air, threw them against a tree. A sickening thud accompanied Scarlet's moan of pain as she slid down and passed out. Wanda screamed and looked in fear at the girl who looked so much like her.

She crouched beside her, and sighed in relief upon finding a pulse. She jumped up, ready to return to battle. Crystal fired another gust of wind at Wanda who slammed into the same tree very hard. Her powers helped her stand and sway a bit as she tried to regain balance. She had enough time to glare at Crystal and call her a particularly nasty name before she collapsed.

"Wanda!" Pietro cried. He turned tail and rushed to her side. "Don't-be-dead-don't-be-dead!" She had a pulse, a weak one but it was still there. He guessed slamming against the tree so hard had cracked a couple of her ribs and possibly broken her arm. She was in rough condition, but she'd live.

He turned angrily to Crystal. "You'll-pay-for-that! Nobody-hurts-anybody-in-my-family-and-lives-to-tell-the-tale!"

He fired his stunner and she dropped in shock. He walked slowly over to her. "Right now, I would love nothing more than to pull this trigger." He said coldly. He knew that at this close a range, a stun to her chest would kill her. And she seemed to know it too.

"Pietro, you can't kill me!" She wept. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, don't kill me! Luna needs me! If I don't come home, she'll have nobody! Have mercy on me Pie, you aren't a killer! Don't do this!" She cried.

He hesitated. No, he wasn't a killer. "You're right, I won't kill you." He smirked. "But that doesn't mean she can't!" He watched as Rogue approached the immobilized girl with a hand that was pale as death. A series of bright light flashes later, Crystal lay unconscious with a power nullifier and Rogue was holding a hand to her head.

"Woah...her memories..." She looked at Pietro in wonder. "She's apparently ya ex-wife." He gaped in disbelief. "Well mo' like ya futa ex-wife. Ya gonna take 'er ta prom an' then...well y'all end up married with a daughta named Luna. Ya put two an' two t'getha, alrigh' Sugah?" Rogue smiled ruefully. "An' hot dang yo' gonna be cut like a diamond when ya grow up, Quickie."

He looked highly uncomfortable, but honestly anybody would be unnerved hearing about their future in this way.

"Um...okay?"

"Just...wow." Rogue shook her head. "These images are weirdin' me out big time." She made a disgusted face. "An' it gets worse. 'Parently afte' she took off with Luna ta go an' be free ta be with whoeva she wan'ed wheneva she wanted, the two of 'em got displaced in time an' she ended up fallin' in love with Scott and Jean's great-great-grandson. Cyclops 2." She wrinkled her nose. "Ah'm gonna need some serious therapy sessions afta this."

"You-aren't-the-only-one." Pietro groaned. "That's-real-disturbing."

Rogue nodded. "Ah'm gonna go help the othas. Get ya sista an' Scarlet ta safety, alright?"

Pietro nodded. She helped him get a good hold on each girl and then he took off.

She observed the battleground and found Mesmero attacking her friends and teammates with powerful psychic blasts. Each fell, suspecting nothing until they screamed in pain and collapsed. In blind fury she flew over in his direction, using her borrowed from Ms Marvel powers.

Mesmero watched as Phoenix V departed from the battlefield. He had also been heavily involved in the battle. Using his vast mental abilities, he had taken on several Legionnaires and X-Men. Many of them were now unconscious on the battlefield. His victims included Sun Boy, Night Girl of the Substitute heroes, Nightcrawler and Cyclops of the X-Men.

He focused on Gambit next. However, when the psychic blast hit this young man's skull it didn't disable him. Remy LeBeau had strong mental sheilds, for the simple reason that he didn't like telepath's playing around in his head and fishing through his memories. He'd had them boosted after Mesmero had taken control of him to steal the key from Angel's house.

And now he was alerted to the threat that had been picking off his teammates left and right. He turned and tossed a card.

It exploded at Mesmero's feet. "Yo' lil mind games won' work on' Remy now, will dey?" He taunted.

"You insolent fool!" Mesmero howled. "You shall pay for your ignorance!" He fired another, more powerful mental blast at the Cajun.

"Sorry, y' caught Remy at a bad time." He panted. "Lef' m' cash back home in de twen'y-firs' cent'ry. But Remy be mo' den happy t' give y' is charge!" The young mutant tossed another charged card.

"You believe this to be a game, don't you, you simple minded fool?" Mesmero asked with a disturbing laugh.

"'F dis be a game den looks like Remy be winnin' non?" The Cajun chuckled impishly and tossed off another round of charged cards. The impact of the blast knocked the psychic mutant from his feet. "Losin ain' Remy's style." He chuckled.

The telepath climbed to his feet and sent a few frustrated blasts at the younger mutant. He pointed to his head and then wagged a mocking finger. "Y' can' play round in here. Y' should know betta."

Mesmero growled, appearing helpless to Remy.

"Looks like Deala wins. Not yo' day." He smirked. "But Remy take it easy on y' oui? Jus' give y' a nice pow'r inhibitor an' a comfy jail cell."

Mesmero snarled and then smirked. He waved his hands and a telepathic wave of a different sort hit Remy.

Remy stared blindly around as the scenery changed dramaticly. Suddenly he was three years old, hiding in a shadowed corner of an alley. He was hungry and had taken a bunch of bananas off a grocer's cart. Initially the elderly man had felt sorry for the waifish boy and had kindly asked him to come closer and maybe have a full meal. But he caught a glimpse of the boy's eyes and started calling him a demon child. He'd called his big nasty dog to chase the monster away.

Remy trembled in fear. The dog had growled and chased him down this alley. He'd torn the boy's t-shirt before trotting back to the grocer. The small boy was afraid to move lest the dog come back.

Suddenly he was four, and he was still starving to death. He saw a rich man with a pretty wife pushing a little girl in a stroller. A boy who was a lot older than Remy walked beside them. He could see the lining of a wallet in the man's pocket and bit his lip.

He'd seen people in stores and restaurants buying food by using the green paper that came from wallets. He needed one of his own so he could get food. He'd been eating out of the trash cans behind a restaurant, but he'd tipped a can once and the owners thought it was a raccoon. So they got a big dumpster and locked it every night now.

He hadn't eaten in three days and his tummy was very aware of it. But he felt bad taking away the man's wallet. What if this man, and the pretty lady and the boy and baby girl ended up living like he was because he took their green paper? His tummy growled and he set his nerve. Besides, the big man could probably get into the dumpster better than Remy anyway.

He weaved through the crowd and got close to the man. He carefully reached up to grab the wallet. He made sure that there was no way the man would feel the wallet slide from his pocket. When he was certain it was his, he grinned. Suddenly the man turned. "What you doin' boy?"

Shame prickled the child's face.

Flash, he had just been adopted by the man he had tried to pickpocket. He wanted to impress them so he tried to take on a gator. Instead his arm had nearly been torn off. The stitches hurt like nobody's business, but what hurt worse was his pride. He was embarrassed and ashamed that he'd made such a fool of himself.

Flash! He was five and had been riding his adopted brother's big-boy bike. He had been doing really well until he hit a patch of sand in the path. He skidded out of control and swerved to avoid the tree. The bike went off the curb, throwing the small boy to the street. He skidded along for a bit, pinned by the bike. He whimpered as he realized his blood was coloring the street around him bright red. Henri came out of the house and started yelling at Remy, calling him stupid and saying his new bike was ruined.

Flash! He was at the playground and some bigger boys dropped him in the frog pond, calling him a freak and a monster. Everyone was laughing at him, even the bullfrog sitting next to the small boy. He tried to sit up but slipped in the muck, causing everyone to laugh harder. Tears bit at his eyes, and loneliness surged in his heart.

Flash! He was eight and trying to climb up the rope ladder to the tree house Henri and his friends were playing in. He slipped and called his brother for help. One of the other boys laughed at the helpless kid.

"Henri, it's your dumb lil brother again."

Henri rolled his eyes. "He'll go 'way eventually."

The child was stunned and ran off, crying and upset.

Flash! He was eleven and skipping rocks on the river. Henri was getting married soon, to his pretty girlfriend Mercy. Remy wondered if anyone would ever love him. But then he remembered that nobody ever would, because of his scary eyes. His best friend was his nine year old sister and that was sad to him, because she was his only friend. Most brothers and sisters couldn't stand each other. He knew someday that she'd get taken from him just like Henri had been by his friends and Mercy.

Flash! He was thirteen and sitting on the riverbank with his 13 year old neighbor from the assassins, Belladonna. They were watching the sunset and he was wearing dark glasses to hide his demon eyes. All of a sudden she pinned him down and kissed him on the lips.

He was shocked but happy to return the kiss, his first ever. She pulled away and smiled.

"Not too bad, yo' a great kisser Remy." He swelled with pride at her words and smiled. "Now if on'y ya didn' have dose horrible eyes y'd be de perfect homme."

He felt his spirits crash but he smiled anyway and moved in to kiss her again, to hide his pain.

Flash! He was fifteen and he was standing guiltily in his father's study, a girl's jacket around his waist the only thing keeping him decent. The girl in question had a bathrobe wrapped around her and she was leaning against the door looking like a kid caught with a hand in the cookie jar.

"Remy, why y' do dis stuff t' me, boy?" Jean-Luc sighed. "Skinny dippin'! Skinny dippin' in de 'sassins pool in full range o' yo' girlfriend's fat'er's office? What de Hell be wrong wit' y'?"

Remy shrugged impishly and winked at Belle. "Got a fille drivin' Remy crazy. Can' expect anyt'in' mo' den crazy t'ings, non?"

Bella smirked and Jean-Luc burried his face in his hands.

"Remy, yo' gonna drive y' père inta an early grave. Marius an' Julien wan' y' dead fo' deflowerin' de fille now. It gonna take a lot t' fix dis one."

"It ain' like dat was de firs' time somet'in' happened." Remy crossed his arms insolently.

"I don' wanna hear bout dis Remy!" Jean-Luc cried. "Y' keep up dis fool behavior an' yo' gonna cost me m' best t'ief."

Remy sighed, having gotten this lecture many times. "Remy sorry père. Won' happen 'gain."

"Damn right it won't." Jean-Luc growled. "Dey want blood t' be paid fo' catchin' de bot' of ya in de pool. An' I don' know what t' do bout it dis time."

The trio sat in silence for a few moments with Jean-Luc glaring at his son. "An' where de hell did yo' clothes go!"

Both the teens grinned coyly. "T'ink we lost em bout half-way between de tree house an de pool." Bella smirked.

"Marius gonna kill me." Jean-Luc shook his head. "Belle, go upstairs an' borrow somet'in' from Mercy, please?"

The blond shrugged and headed out of the room.

"Remy Etienne LeBeau! Got half a mind t' sell y' t' gypsies an' make em dress y' up like a clown o' somet'in'. Y' gotta git yo' head outta her bedroom! She's an assassin!"

The teen shrugged nonchalantly.

Bella strode back into the room, blond hair tossed into a high ponytail, wearing a pink halter top and Daisy Duke shorts.

"Dose ain' Mercy's." Jean-Luc sighed.

"Course not. Ah stashed dese in Remy's room a long time ago in case somethin' like this ever happened. Besides, Ah can' wear Mercy's thin's. Ot'er den bein' horridly unfashionable, she be a few sizes bigger'n me. Ah'd hafta be carryin' twins t' fit her clothes." Bella shook her head pityingly.

"Good lo'd yo' ain' are y'?"

"No of course not." Bella scoffed. "Ah ain' stupid ya know. An' anyway Ah have a way ta keep Remy outta trouble."

"Oh?"

"Oui. Tell m' père Remy agrees t' de marriage pact."

Remy's jaw dropped. "Quoi! Quelle marriage pact!"

Jean-Luc ignored his son's outburst and looked thoughtful. "Hm, dat could work. It'd keep us all outta trouble an' unify de guilds at de same time. Y' t'ink Marius'd agree?"  
"Mais oui. Daddy'll agree ta anythin' if it's makin' me happy." She batted her eyes at Remy.

"Den dat's what I'll do." Jean-Luc smiled. "T'ank y' Belle. I t'ink I'll call him right now."

He picked up the phone and dialed. A few moments later Belle took the phone away from Jean-Luc and after a few moments squealed and hung up. She turned to Remy practically bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Guess what Remy! We're gettin' married!"

His jaw dropped in confusion but he faked a smile. Fooling around was one thing but getting married? He was only fifteen for crying out loud!

FLASH! He was lying on the floor staring up at the ceiling. He glanced to his left and saw Belle, still writing out plans for the wedding. She had an extravagant affair planned, with live doves and a horse drawn carriage and pink and lacy stuff everywhere.

"Remy, should de napkins be rose ou blush?" She held up the two color tags from the caterers book.

"Dere a difference?" He asked, not personally seeing one. "Dey bot' look pink t' Remy."

She groaned in frustration from her perch on the couch. "Yo' hopeless ain't ya?"

"Oui." He nodded.

"Dis is yo' weddin' too Remy Lebeau!"

"Oui." He nodded again.

"Don' ya wanna help pick de decorations wit' me?"

"Non." He shook his head and sighed. She'd been an absolute nightmare since they'd gotten permission to get married, on his birthday, Halloween. Most guys looked forward to their sixteenth birthdays, but Remy found himself dreading it.

"Remy why y' lyin' all over the floor anyway?" She pouted. "Come sit wit' ya fiancée!"

He groaned and stood, dropping next to her and looking like he lost the will to live. "Bella Chère, y' ever t'ink mebe we be too young t' be gettin' married?"

She looked at him sternly. "What y' sayin?"

"Jus' dat, shouldn' we wait a lil?"

"Why? We do everything married people do. An' we both got jobs in de guilds. We got homes an' everyt'in. Dere ain' nuttin' stoppin' us." She stared suspiciously at him. "Why? Y' wanna be wit' someone else? Is dere someone else Remy?"

"Non." Remy sighed. "Jus' we still kids an' all."

"Dere's another woman ain't there!" Belle accused. "It's that Genevieve Marcielle ain' it!"

"Course not Belle!" Remy sighed. "Y' know Remy love y'." He leaned over and kissed her, his favorite method of shutting her annoying voice off. She smiled and kissed him back then pushed him away.

"Dere'll be plen'y of time fo' dat aft' de weddin'. But Ah still got so much t' plan." She gestured at her notes. "So now, tell me, how d' y' intend t' hide dose awful eyes o' yo's?"

He sighed. "Ah'll wear de sunglasses."

"Ah wish there was somethin' else t' do." She pouted. "All de pictures gonna be ruined an' we'll look like a joke."

He frowned. "Belle, Chère, Remy can' do nuttin' bout de way he was born."

"Of course not." She smiled. "Well jus' make sho' dey be good lookin' shades at least."

"Oui Chère." He sighed, feeling worse about his eyes than he ever had before.

FLASH! He was decked out in a nice expensive tuxedo, with designer sun glasses and standing at an altar hiding his misery behind a smile. Henry stood beside him silently.

The organ music started and a young girl born an assassin started down the aisle tossing flower petals. Shortly behind her, Mercy and one of Belle's friends headed down the aisle. And shortly the doors opened again to reveal sixteen year old Belle at her father's side. They walked down the aisle and soon Remy's life was flashing before his eyes.

"Dearly beloved we gather here today in celebration of the blessed union between Remy Etienne LeBeau and Belladonna Brigitte Boudreaux." The aged priest smiled at the assassins on one side of the church and the thieves on the other side. "This union is not only tying together two guilds and ending a war, but two lives and starting a family. May Remy and Bella find eternal love and peace among their families."

Henri slipped the rings into Remy's hand with a somber nod. He knew his brother wasn't looking forward to this.

"Is there anybody among us on this joyous day who can produce any reason these two should not be married?" Remy stared around hopefully, biting his tongue so he wouldn't shout out or beg for somebody to come forth.

"Then let us proceed with the ceremony." The priest smiled, not catching the misery in the groom's eyes. "Belladonna Boudreaux, do you take this man Remy Lebeau, to be your lawfully wedded husband for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"

"Ah do, Ah do, Ah really do!" She smiled joyfully. Remy started sweating nervously.

"And Remy LeBeau, do you take this woman, Belladonna to be your lawfully wedded wife in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer as long as you both shall live?"

He took a deep breath and forced himself to start saying what was expected of him, as opposed to what he really wanted to say.

"Remy-sorry, I mean I d-" He broke off to stare at the rings he'd been holding tightly in his hand. They felt tingly and warm and suddenly they were glowing pinkish orange. Some instinct told him to drop them and within seconds they exploded. Everyone started screaming and running, but Remy was frozen in place. He was staring at his hands in horrified awe. Somebody knocked into him and his sunglasses were askew.

The priest gasped on seeing the boy's eyes and was barely able to cross himself. Remy backed away, scared and confused. He bumped into a pillar. He put his hand on it to steady himself and to his horror noticed the pink orange charge start creeping up it. The priest had enough time to cry out and run to the door. Everyone made it outside but Remy who stared in horror at the pillar. When he pulled his hand away, the church came down around his ears. He barely made it to safety before the accusation started. He ran, and ran, for his safety, for everyone's safety. He ran until he encountered a man named Eric Magnus Lenshurr.

Rogue knew something was wrong. Remy's eyes were unfocused and he was crying out and holding his head. "REMY!" She cried as she saw Mesmero planning to take advantage of the mental confusion of being trapped in his bad memories.

She flew rapidly to Remy's side and pushed him out of the way of the blast. It missed the two of them by a hair and she gasped. "Remy come on, focus! Ah need yo' help!"

He was panting heavily as his eyes returned to normal, "Chère? Remy seein' thin's horrible thin's." He sounded pained and weak.

"Shh, Sugah it's alright. Ya gonna be okay, just help me take down Mesmer-" She broke off screaming in sync with Remy as Mesmero hit the both of their weak and tired minds with a mental blast that rendered them unconscious.

Mesmero took a deep breath, he too was beginning to tire from his exertions. He sent a telepathic message to Apocalypse about the need to rest and regroup. Apocalypse received the message and scanned his forces. Cyclops II was missing. Apparently he vanished with the city. Crystal was unconscious and trapped in a power nullifier and Phoenix V was back in her recharging pod nearly unconscious. Mordru was continuing to blast the Legionnaires with his bolts of magic power. The one known as Universo seemed to be in a battle with the purple skinned legionnaire, Brainiac 5 and one other being. The more he observed this part of the battle, however, he began to realize something was wrong. Brainiac 5 was firing some sort of ray at Universo. Suddenly, Universo seemed to be moving in slow motion. Realizing that his forces were weakening, Apocalypse called his troops to retreat to their base. He also recalled Crystal in her power nullifier. All of the super villains just seemed to disappear from the battle. The Legionnaires looked all around for their foes. As the smoke began to clear, the consequences of the battle became apparent. Many of the Legionnaires and X-Men were wounded, or severely injured. One of the injured was Mon-El. He had barely survived a direct assault from Mordru. Near him lay the unconscious bodies of Rogue, Avalanche, Gambit, and Pyro. A little further away were Forge, who was bleeding heavily from his wounds, Sun Boy, Polar Boy, Night Girl and Phantom Girl. All of these heroes needed medical attention. The only problem was that all medical facilities and doctors were currently in the phantom zone. Super Boy, Ms Marvel and Super Girl gathered together. They were soon joined by Quicksilver, Ultra Boy, Shadow Lass, Rond Vidar, Element Lad and Wildfire. They were the only ones still standing. Even Brainiac 5 had succumbed to exhaustion and was unconscious on the ground.

Super Girl scanned the area with her X-Ray Vision. Soon she found a well hidden cave. As deputy leader, she had to take charge of the Legion. Mon-El was still unconscious. She quickly told Super Boy and Ms. Marvel about the cave. Then she ordered the remaining legionnaires to start taking their teammates to the cave. Everyone who was able made their way to the cave. All of the injured heroes were placed in the back of the cave and put under the care of Lana and Pete who had both regained consciousness. Once all the living heroes were assembled in the cave, Super Girl began the grisly task of scanning for any dead bodies. She found only one. Carmen Maria Rodriguez, known to her teammates as Qpid, was the only fatal casualty on this day. Super Girl knew there would probably be more in the days to come. She gathered up the body of Qpid and found her detached head. She wrapped the dead girl in her cape and brought it to the cave. Then, Super Girl flew into space. She quickly found and dismantled the Satellite they had placed in orbit earlier in the day. She had a feeling that she would need the phantom zone projector again. When she returned to earth, she dug a shallow grave and placed Carmen's Body in it and covered her up. Using her heat vision, she carved a Kryptonian symbol on a rock at the head of the grave to mark its location. Then she returned to the cave.

Super Girl rested when she got back to the cave. She knew that the next day was going to be another long and tiring day. She was deep in thought about what they should do. The plan to put the entire population of the planet into the phantom zone had a major drawback. They had also removed all of the buildings. This meant that there were no medical facilities or places to procure food or drink. While Super Girl, her sister, Ms. Marvel, her cousin, Super Boy and Mon-El did not need food or sleep, the rest of the legionnaires and X-Men did. She could not expect any of them to go into battle without proper nourishment to sustain them. While Super Girl was pondering this dilemma, Saturn Girl and Rogue each began to wake up. After a few moments, Saturn Girl sat up and looked over at her friend. Super Girl noticed Saturn Girl was awake. A few seconds later, Rogue was also awake.

"Ugh, did y'all catch the license plate o' the train that hit meh?" She looked around, disoriented. After a few seconds, she realized her situation. "Ah guess this means anotha day started without ma daily dose o' caffeine an' sugah..." she sighed jokingly.

Kara and Imra looked at the mutant. "Coffee is the least of our issues right now, Rogue," said Super Girl. "When we put the entire planet's population centers in the phantom zone along with their infrastructure, we took away our own abilities to secure food and medical assistance, in order to deprive the bad guys of their chance to raise a super army to use against us. Unfortunately, We have several members of our team injured."

"We could always bring back the City of Metropolis, Kara," said Saturn Girl.

"No, we can't. At least not until this battle is over. We can not afford to give Apocalypse the opportunity to create slaves," Super Girl replied.

"What can we do, then?" Rogue asked.

"I have been wondering that myself." Super Girl replied.

Just then, Mon-El and Brainiac 5 woke up. Mon-el was still a bit groggy. He had taken a extremely powerful blast from Mordru but was otherwise uninjured. After shaking his head, he sat up. "Did someone get the number of that intergalactic cruiser that hit me?" he joked.

Super Girl turned around. "Mon-El, you are awake. How do you feel"

Mon-El looked at the three girls. "Is the battle over? Did we win?"

"No, Mon-El," Super girl replied. "The battle is not over. Apocalypse and his team retreated and I had everyone brought here. We have a problem however." Super Girl told him about the issues facing the Legion and X-Men. As she finished her story and its catch 22 dilemma, she asked him what to do.

Meanwhile, at the villains' base, all was not peaceful. Apocalypse was angry. The Legionnaires had turned Earth into a barren rock, devoid of life. They had apparently captured or killed Cyclops II and had been able to nullify Crystal's inhuman abilities. He had not been able to find a way to remove the power nullifier from her neck. To make matters worse, The Time Trapper and Mordru were arguing incessantly about their past issues. Mordru was about to hit the Time trapper with a powerful bolt of dark sorcery, dispatching him from existence when Apocalypse yelled at them. "SILENCE! I WILL NOT TOLERATE THESE PETTY DISAGREEMENTS TO IMPEDE UPON THE PLANS !"

Mordru looked at Apocalypse. "No one silences Mordru," he growled. Turning his attention to Apocalypse, he began to berate him as well. "This is all your fault, mutant. Where is this army of slaves you promised us?" What happened to your power grid.?" he shouted angrily.

Apocalypse looked at Mordru. My power grid works fine but The legionnaires are using some sort of illusion to make us think the planet is barren. We just have to find a way to destroy the illusion and we will get our army."

At this moment, Phoenix V entered the room. "Boss, I don't think the absence of people is an illusion. I can only detect the Legionnaires remaining on the planet. I can't find my brother anywhere. It is like he just vanished off the planet." Then she began to cry. Her emotions were all over the place since the fight with her ancestor. All she wanted at this point was to go home. She missed her cat, Allergenio, and the times where she didn't have to obey the orders of a psychotic lunatic bent on universal domination.

Apocalypse looked at his team of super villains and told them all to get some rest. Then he turned and set his computer to scan for any and all human life forms on the planet earth. To his surprise, the only human life forms were all Legionnaires or X-Men or his small group of 7 villains. _"Where did all of the humans go?"_ he thought.

Back at the cave, Super Girl and Mon-El had become involved in a discussion about what to do. Saturn Girl and Rogue had moved over to the cave's entrance. Saturn Girl looked at Rogue. "You know that you are probably the key to this battle, Rogue?"

Rogue stared at Saturn Girl. "What ahr ya talkin about, Saturn Girl? How can ah be the key?" She asked, confused.

Saturn Girl realized her friend did not realize what she was talking about. "You have the power to remove Apocalypse's energy grid. Do you remember when I was inside your head? When I gave you the ability to touch?" Rogue nodded. "At that time, I also removed the impediment that only allowed you to utilize a mutant ability for a short time after you acquired it. You still have the ability to shut off all forms of power. Since Apocalypse's energy grid appears to work on electricity, you can easily shut it down. You can selectively decide which power to shut down and you can also shut down more than one power source at a time."

Rogue grinned. "Ah did not know that. Thanks, Saturn Girl."

Saturn Girl laughed with her new friend. "You may be able to single handedly defeat Mordru as well. He does not know what you are capable of. Neither does Apocalypse, really." A few moments later the sun began to rise. Rogue and Saturn Girl went back inside the cave to join their teammates. Most of the Legionnaires and X-Men had awakened from their slumbers and unconscious state. Except for the physically injured ones, the rest had all collapsed from exhaustion but were now ready to go. Before leaving the cave, it had been decided by Mon-el and Super Girl that only the physical city of Metropolis would be restored from the phantom zone. This way, the Legionnaires would have their headquarters available to them as well as medical and food facilities. They had decided to leave the people in the phantom zone until after the battle was over. There would also be secure prison facilities to put any prisoners in. Brainiac 5 quickly made the correct calculations and adjusted the settings on the phantom zone projector. Then Super Boy flew high into the sky and hit the reverse button. Suddenly the city of Metropolis was back where it originally stood. It was still unpopulated. The Legionnaires all flew or were carried to Legion headquarters. The first thing Rogue did when she saw the building was go and make herself a cup of coffee. _"Ahhhhh, coffee, strong and sweet. Just the way Ah like it."_ She thought with a smile.

That is it for this chapter. I want to thank my Reviewers Heartsyhawk and JediTwitch for their kind reviews. Patience my friends. As you can see, there are some surprising developments here. The war is on. Stay tuned for the next chapter but before you go, please review this chapter. Thank you!

♥HH♥ and ☻HD☻


	12. The Tide Turns

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Welcome Back folks. Just a little note to let you all know what happened in the last chapter. The War has Started. The Legionnaires have evacuated the entire population of 31st century Earth into the phantom zone. The Legion and X-Men have suffered some serious casualties. Qpid or Carmen Rodriguez is deceased. Mon-El is suffering from magic-induced injuries. Forge is currently bleeding and comatose. Scarlett Maximoff and her ancestor, Wanda Maximoff, are both suffering from injured ribs. Sun Boy has some broken bones and is unconscious. Avalanche is comatose. Now that that is taken care of, the disclaimer:

Although I wish I did , Sadly I do not own DC Comics, Marvel Comics, The Legion of Superheroes or the X-Men, nor any of their actual characters.

And Now:

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END OF THE WORLD

CHAPTER 12

THE TIDE TURNS

Lana and Pete moved down to the infirmary to help take care of the injured Legionnaires and X-Men. Their abilities were better suited for close hand to hand combat and were not, hopefully needed at this stage of the battle. They were joined by the Legion of Substitute Heroes who had offered to help with the injured. They had all been inflicted with very minor injuries in the first day of the battle and as a group decided to withdraw from the actual combat until they would be needed. The most seriously injured of the group was Forge. They had managed to stop the bleeding of his wounds but he was still in a comatose state. Pietro seemed to be recovering from his physical injuries. It appeared that he also had a super fast healing system that came along with his powers.

However, that was not the case with his emotional wounds. He was in a state of depression and confusion over the loss of Qpid. Pietro was sad because he thought he had finally found a girl he liked and might have been able to have a relationship that lasted longer than one night with for once in his life. He really had liked the girl. She was a lot like him, personality and power wise. But now she was...gone. Dead without even a chance to defend herself. He found himself hating the mutant who fired the mental blast.

But no matter what Rogue or his sister or anyone said, he felt like it was his fault. He alone had the speed that could have saved her. Had he not been admiring the view that her red spandex uniform had offered, he may have been able to save her. He could have prevented her gruesome death.

Even before they were on the battlefield, he could have saved her. He could have protested against her joining him in the future. Or he could have stayed home himself. He hated himself for wanting to get in on the action. He had never seen war first hand. But now that he had, he wished he was still so blissfully naive. For a bitter moment, he cursed the Legion for needing the X-men, the X-men for having defeated Apocalypse previously, Apocalypse for existing, and many other things.

He turned away from the others, most of whom who had no idea why he was so sullen and miserable and decided it was because he had not imagined war to be so bad. He was really hiding the hot tears that slid silently to his pillow.

Normally he would have simply loved having a pretty young lady such as Lana Lang showering him in concern and paying full attention to any injury he might have. But now was not the time for it as he was just in a mood to stew in his thoughts and newfound emotions.

Lana sighed, sensing he was upset. She put a hand on his shoulder. "If you want to talk about anything, I'm ready to listen."

"Go away." He snapped.

Lana shook her head sadly. "Alright. I hope you feel better." She moved on to check on the other injured members.

Sun Boy had a broken arm and a dislocated shoulder. He too would be out of action for a while, a fact he was not very thrilled about. She moved to check on the other patients.

Both Scarlett Witches were suffering from bruised ribs from the collision with the tree. Both were in pain, but conscious. Everyone figured that with a couple good days of bed rest they'd be as good as new. Wanda was starting to go crazy with sitting still. She claimed that even though she had a cracked rib, and several others bruised, as well as a sprained arm that she was fine. Her spirit was admirable but she was instructed to stay in bed.

She turned her attention to her brother and sighed. She knew why he wasn't being himself. She felt just as rotten inside. She had hated Carmen from the moment she had met the girl. But that did not mean Carmen deserved the fate she got. She pondered this whole fight and couldn't believe how stupid it was. All this hurt, all this chaos, was not even needed. Just because a bunch of bullies had decided they wanted to take over everything, innocent people and time itself were in danger.

She shook her head and looked at Scarlet who looked rather pale and distraught herself.

"Hey kid, you okay?" She asked softly.

Scarlet bit her lip. "When I signed up to be a legionnaire, I never thought that...something like this would happen." Her voice was soft and low, almost like a whisper. "So many people got hurt, and so many more people are going to."

Wanda nodded and sighed. "When I joined the X-men, the biggest threat was my father. But even he didn't kill just for the sake of killing. He just had a distorted sense of right and wrong."

Scarlet turned to her mentor. "Magneto? That's like what the history books said."

"My father makes-er made history?" Wanda raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. All of you guys did. Well I guess it would be do." The younger Scarlet Witch frowned. "They need to write an instruction book for how a girl should talk when speaking with anyone from the past."

Wanda laughed and smiled. "Or the future for that matter."

Scarlet grinned. "It's probably a whole language that needs to be written. I bet my little sister Anna could do it. She's only eight but she's a genius. Her power helps her catalogue things into her memory and-" Scarlet's eyes teared up.

"Are you alright?" Wanda asked.

"I'm fine. I just, miss my family a lot." Scarlet frowned. "I had a fight with Anna and her twin brother Kurt just before I left. If something happens to me or them, and I never get to apologize and tell them how much I really don't hate them..."

"Oh don't talk like that." Wanda comforted the younger girl. "You'll be alright. And so will they. They are safe and sound in the Phantom Zone."

Scarlet nodded. "You're right, but still."

Wanda sighed. "At least your siblings are safe." She looked over to her brother. "I'm afraid mine's going to do something stupid and get himself killed."

Scarlet bit her lip. "For my sake, I hope he doesn't."

"What do you mean?" Wanda asked curiously.

"Well, if he gets killed now, before he marries Crystal and has a family-" She paused, not knowing if she should be telling her ancestor this. "Well I don't wanna screw up the time stream so I'll not say much but without him I don't exist."

"Scarlet, I think we're probably messing the time stream just by being in here. I mean, you're alive and my age about a thousand years from the time when I'm my age. It's confusing." She crinkled her nose. "And I really don't think you have anything to worry about. I know my brother. I saw that..." She paused trying to think of how to describe Crystal, whom she had met the day previous and had liked about as much as Carmen. "person, yesterday. And barring a severe personality change, you'll exist, don't worry."

Scarlet smiled in amusement. Pietro made a choking noise from his bed, protesting what his sister was implying, but said nothing more. 

Wanda frowned, wishing he would have even jeer and teased her about Toad. She couldn't stand seeing him this deflated and listless.

Scarlet noticed her concern and frowned. "He'll be alright, Wanda. It's gonna take all of us to snap back from our first real fight in our first real war."

Wanda nodded. "Still, I'm not used to seeing him this way. It's scary."

Pietro heard and smiled, not that she could see of course. It touched his heart that his sister was so concerned about him. But right now he just wanted to be alone.

Scarlet then murmured something about it being a long time since she had been to the ladies room and took off, with the promise of bringing back an iced tea from the fridge in the kitchen for Wanda.

She moved relatively slowly, careful not to smart her own injuries from her encounter with Crystal and the tree. And as simply as that Wanda felt alone.

She hated the silence, it was slowly eating her alive. With nobody to talk to, she found that the last moments of Carmen's life replayed repeatedly. She wished she could turn back time and not create that hex bolt. Or maybe she could have been nicer to the girl. It wouldn't have killed her, and it certainly wouldn't have killed Carmen.

In the awful, tight silence, Wanda realized she'd give just about anything to have Toad call her one of his silly nicknames or pester her. It was odd, she had never dreamed she'd miss it. But right now she'd do just about anything to see him if he could take away the silence and give her somebody to talk to.

"G'day mates!" A cheery voice called into the room. "Here's hoping all of you are decent cause Oy don' wanna see anybody's underclothes." The voice was followed by a grinning Pyro. "Just here to check up on our resident sickies." He laughed until he saw Lana. "The bloke upstairs says you and Petey here should go take a break. You ain't done anything but work with these people since sun up."

Lana smiled and nodded. She and Pete thanked him and headed upstairs.

Pyro walked by each person and checked their charts. Wanda watched him and had no doubts that he had no idea what he was looking at, considering he was holding the chart he was currently examing upside down.

He approached Pietro's bedside and raised an eyebrow. "Hey mate, you okay? You look a li'l pale. Well, paler than usual anyway Snowball."

Pietro rolled over scowling. "Shut up and go away."

"Well excuse me for tryin' ta be friendly." Pyro rolled his eyes. "You can just go back to being a grumpy little bug." He stuck his tongue out and walked towards Wanda who was watching the whole exchange with amusement. As he got closer she shut her eyes.

She held them shut for a few moments and then when she figured he must be gone, she opened them only to find his big greenish blue eyes wide and staring from only about six or so inches away from her own face.

She yelped in surprise and pushed him away. "What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack!"

He chuckled. "Oy knew you wer'n't sleeping, Sheila." He smirked, amused. "Saw those perty blue eyes of yours across the room. Brightest thing in here."

A pinkish tinge appeared around her cheeks and ears. "Um, thanks." She murmured.

He dropped into a chair near her bed. "So how are you feeling."

Wanda scowled. "I'm fine. But apparently they must keep me in here. They say its for my own good. But I know better. They want me back in that Asylum."

He laughed. "That ain't true, Sheila. They don't want you hurting. Those ribs of yours, they need time to heal up proper."

"I can't stand all this stupid sitting around and doing nothing!" She groaned. "I want to go run laps or do a danger room sim or play ping-pong; anything that will get me out of this room!" She sighed. "I'd even welcome Toad attempting to cling to me. I think if he magically popped in right now, I'd be so happy to see him that I might lose my head and go kiss him or something equally crazy."

Pyro wrinkled his nose. "So you and Slimeboy, eh? Well, who'da thunk. Thought you hated his stinky guts." He shrugged casually.

"Yeah, well...I'm not so sure. I've had a lot of time to evaluate the way I feel about a lot of things." She sighed. "And to be honest, I miss the attention, just a little." She admitted.

Pyro shook his head pityingly. "If he's the only bloke gonna give you attention, it ain't us what are the crazies." He winked.

"What?" Wanda asked, puzzled slightly.

"He can't be the only bloke turnin' his head to ya, Sheila."

Wanda shrugged and smirked. "Guess its my charming personality."

Pyro laughed. "Pretty face and a quick, sharp tongue. You gotta be joshin' me when you say the only guy what pays you any attention is Wart face. Really you must hafta beat back the blokes with a bat, right?"

Wanda shrugged again. "Nope."

Pyro's jaw dropped. "Now, that, is a damn shame." He tutted. "Anyway, how're you likin' the future so far?"

Wanda blinked. "Um, I haven't had much time to look around or anything. But if it wasn't so war desecrated maybe I'd like it."

"Well from what Oy've heard mutants here have peace. Kinda nice ta know all this work Baldy and Bucket head...er mean yer dad of course, makes us do pays off eventually." He nodded wisely.

"That would be nice." Wanda sighed. "Just hope we live long enough to see it happen." She muttered under her breath.

"Oh, don't go talking like that, Sheila." He smiled gently. "We'll pull through...We got to. If for nothing other than we seriously gotta explore the cool stuff this place has to offer." He grinned amazed. "Did you know the refrigerators here talk to ye? Actually ask you what you want to eat! And then it serves it to ya."

"Seriously?" Wanda laughed. 

"Yeah!" Pyro chuckled. "And the computers! Oy dunno squat about the machines but that I snuck on to one last night and Croikey! It sure looked advanced."

Suddenly the heavenly scent of breakfast wafted upon the infirmary.

"Mmm. Smells like Remy's making breakfast." Pyro grinned. "Sweet bloke he is, doing up food for this many people."

Wanda sniffed and sighed. "I hate being injured. When I get out of here, I'm gonna find that stupid elemental bitch and break all of her ribs. See how she likes being introduced to a tree."

Pyro chuckled nervously. "Somethin' tells me to stay far away when you get your chance."

Wanda nodded with a smug smirk. "I won't do too much. Just give her a teeny taste of her own treatment." She sighed. "Look, you should probably go and enjoy your breakfast. If Remy went to all that trouble, you should thank him."

Pyro frowned. "Oh Oy've had his cooking before. An' true, he's a great cook, but really Oy don' even know half the people up in that mess hall. Even mosta the X-men are strangers to me. If Oy go on up, the only person who'll really put up with me will be busy tryin' his darndest to impress Rogue." He sighed in partial disgust.

"I imagine that would get old fast." Wanda agreed. Even she was getting sick of the googoo eyes Remy tuned to Rogue.

"You have no idea. The bloke's totally obsessed. If Oy had a nickel for evertime Oy caught him pining over the Sheila, or trying to get me to go an' spy on the X-geeks before we joined...just to catch a glimpse of her walkin' by her bedroom window...well I'd have a lot of nickels." Pyro rolled his eyes irritably. "He'd be doin' us all a favor if he'd just pull her into a tight hug and tell her how much he loves her as he ignores her damn powers and kisses her so she can see for herself."

"That would be sweet...but disturbing...very disturbing..." Wanda frowned. "Why would you suggest something like that? I mean, as a guy isn't it your job to discourage that stuff?"

Pyro smirked mysteriously. "Never play with stereotypes, Sheila." He winked. "Someone might just surprise ya."

"Really?" Wanda asked amused. "And what could surprise me about you? Honestly when you were a toddler, you know, from Forge and his stupid time thing? Well anyway I dealt with everything from feeding ducks to fishing crayon out of your mouth. And telling you that Jean's doll wasn't meant to be a burnt sacrifice to Rogue. So really I don't know if I'm physically able to be surprised by you or the others any more." She laughed.

"Oh really, you think you know all about me?" He grinned.

She frowned. "Actually not really. I just know some habits and quirks. I don't really know anything about the person you are...just a little."

He shrugged. "Oy can say the same. Don' know much bout you either."

"Kinda odd, isn't it?" Wanda quirked an eyebrow. "I mean, we've both lived at Xavier's for a while, but the only things I know about you are that you used to work for my father, your codename is Pyro, you are a pyromaniac with pyrokinetic ability, and your first name is John."

"Saint John, Sheila." He winced.

"Oh?" Wanda blinked. "That's...kinda odd."

"Well, Oy didn' get te request a name myself when I was a kid, Sheila." He frowned. "That one is all on moy rental units. You think Oy'm nuts..." He rolled his eyes.

"I didn't say that." Wanda mumbled quickly.

"Oh then 'low me te introduce moyself." He grinned. "Saint John Barnabas Allerdyce, three time ward of the Sydney Institution for the mentally unsound, at yer service, Luv." He mock bowed and grabbed her hand to kiss her knuckles.

She laughed. "Quite an introduction."

He shrugged. "Oy got a lotta spare time on me hands. And maybe Oy've spent a lil too much time around me mate Gambit."

She nodded. "It shows."

"Well, Sheila, breakfast smells pretty good."

"Oh right." Wanda shook her head, having forgotten about it. "You go right ahead. I'll just stay here and maybe throw something at my brother to see if he's even alive." She tried to mask the hurt in her voice.

Before he could reply, Pietro hmphed from where he had been surreptitiously watching with narrowed eyes. "I'm fine Wanda." He snarled.

She snapped her head over to stare at him. Why was he always so predictably in her business and acting like a rabid watch dog when ever she talked to anybody?

"Well well, Snowball's alive after all. How about that?" Pyro chuckled.

"Get lost Pyro." Pietro growled.

"Touchy, touchy." Pyro rolled his eyes. "Ain' doin' nothin' wrong Speed bump."

Pietro's eyes were narrow, like a cat's. He crossed his arms and scowled.

"Alright, Oy'm goin'." Pyro rolled his eyes. "Croikey, ain' like Oy was hurtin' her or somethin, mate. Sheila, Oy'd talk to yer kid brother bout how over protective he is, if Oy was you anyway."

Wanda rolled her eyes. "You just go eat your breakfast. Tell Rogue I said hi and tell Remy I'm going to hex him halfway to Sunday if he doesn't take your advice." She winked.

"Actually, Sheila, Oy'd say you can tell 'em yerself." Pyro said reasonably.

"What are you talking about?" Pietro snapped. "She's hurt. She needs to rest! She can't be getting all worked up over Rogue or especially Gambit!"

"Look Quickie, believe it or not, Oy actually know what Oy'm talking about, so sod off."

Pietro fell silent and glarey.

"Okay. Now Oy know this ain't a game. Oy'm a hundred percent serious. But Oy know a way for you to get up to breakfast."

"How?" She asked curiously. "I've been condemned to bed rest until I'm all healed." She scowled. "Pietro, when I get out of here, I'm gonna go beat your future wife within an inch of her evil soul." She informed him as casually as though she just commented on the weather. "Hope that's alright with you."

Pietro gulped nervously. "Um,..." He didn't really know what to say so he just settled for staring at her.

"Croikey, love, ye jus' made 'im speachless! Someone should call the worl' record people!" Pyro laughed in amusement. Wanda even cracked her own smile. "Now as Oy was sayin', Oy know ya sposed ta rest an' all but you want that breakfast as much as Oy do. Oy can see it in those perty blue things yer passin' off as eyes." He winked.

"Wanting something doesn't make it happen." Wanda sighed bitterly.

"Yeah, but medical knowledge helps a bit, Sheila." He winked. Her curiousity peaked.

"You know about cracked ribs?"

"Not an expert or nothin', but Oy know enough." He nodded. "Damn painful things, broken ribs." He winced at a resurfacing memory. "When I was a kid, no more'n six or seven, Oy had a run in with one nasty brute of a tree too. Fell outta moy brother's treehouse. Eleven feet straight down. Broke me royght ahm and cracked two ribs. Docta said oy was lucky not ta crack moy skull open or break moy neck the way oy landed."

"Woah." Wanda blinked, awed. Then she remembered what he had said. "So what did you do?"

"Well, moy ahm was in a cast fer a while. But it wasn' much more than a pain. Oy'm left handed anyhow so wasn't that big a deal. But those ribs...every time Oy breathed it hurt loike Hell." He recounted. "An' Oy couldn' do any liftin' or anything that involved moving around much. But moy mom and pop didn't see this as an excuse to miss Sunday School. So they stuffed me in a wheel chair an' hauled moy butt wherever they wanted it."

Wanda paused for a moment and then Pietro laughed. "Oh yea, that's great. Wanda in a wheel chair? Please who is she, Xavier for crying out loud!" He snorted. "She's not that helpless for crying out loud! She's injured not crippled!"

Pyro frowned. "And Oy didn't hear anyone say she was, mate."

"I am not your friend, and I don't ever plan on it." Pietro growled.

"And Oy'm very thankful for that." Pyro smirked. "Now anyway, Sheila, as Oy was tryin' to tell ya, if ye don't mind a wheel chair Oy can bring ya almost anywhere ye wanna be."

Wanda pondered for a moment and he took this as a good sign. He skipped over to the corner of the infirmary and brought a chair over. She frowned.

"I don't want people to see me in that thing." She wrinkled her nose. "People will think I'm weak."

"Sheila, you are not weak. Temporarily outta commission, sure, but yer definitely not weak. Nobody could say that about you. Ye took a full attack in battle with an older and more experienced opponent. She flung you pretty hard into that tree." He smiled for her benefit and reached for her hand. "Oy don't think yer weak at all."

She smiled softly for a moment. "I can't stand being so damn helpless." She scowled. "It's not bad enough it hurts like crazy!" She exploded. "But noooo...to add insult to injury I'm stuck and pretty much immobile."  
"I know, its awful ain't it?" Pyro nodded soothingly. "But Oy'm willing to bet ya all the pixy stix in moy pillow back home, and all 3412 lighters Oy've ever owned that your friends ain't gonna think yer weak." He paused before grinning. "And if any of 'em give ya any trouble, well ya got one prime institution escaping lunatic with a flamethrower backin' ya up."

He smiled assuringly at her. She glanced hesitantly at the chair, and then his outstretched hand and then his comforting smile. She bit her lip.

"C'mon Sheila. Oy know yer hungry. Don' tempt me to light a fire under yer bum to get you moving now." He laughed and wagged an eyebrow.

Wanda winced silently as she lightly pushed the blanket off of her body, revealing a conservative set of simple black pajamas. Even that small movement sent tremors of sharp pain through her.

"Careful, not too quickly." He advised, seeing the pain in her facial expressions. "Just be careful not to overdo it." He said calmly. "Easy does it."

Wanda slowly climbed, with his help to a standing position.

She tried to take a hesitant step toward the chair and lurched with a yelp of distress as pain hit again. She gritted her teeth and flinched.

"Maybe this isn't such a hot idea." Pyro said gently. "Do you want to lay back down?"

"I'm fine." She forced a smile and took a tiny step. She found that slow steps, like a baby learning to walk, did not hurt as much if she was slow and cautious. She reached the chair and sat down with a relieved sigh. "See?"

"Great job!" Pyro smiled. "If you're all set, Oy can take ya up to breakfast?"

Wanda scowled. "I can manage on my own."

"Really? Cause Oy'm not so sure you can push the chair without yer arms and if ye move those, yer gonna hurt like nobody's business."

"I got into it on my own didn't I?" She asked stubbornly.

"Yeah, but-"

"Watch and learn." Wanda smirked. She planted her hands firmly on the wheels and her feet onto the foot rests. She tried gently easing the wheels around but the shooting pain was nearly maddening. She swore bitterly and froze until the pain subsided. He looked at her with an 'I told you so' frown on his face. "Ok, so I couldn't do it right. But watch this!"

She put both feet on the floor and concentrated. She moved her feet and shuffled along about half an inch.

"Maybe Oy'm wrong, but Oy'm thinkin' you won't get anywhere fast that way." He said, very amused.

"You'll see." Wanda assured them. "I'll get there... eventually."

"Yeah, in plenty of time for Christmas dinner." He rolled his eyes. He walked calmly around to the front of the wheel chair.

With a knowing look, he gently eased her feet up onto the rests and moved back behind the chair. He was slowly pushing her along and ignoring her threats of being hexed into next week if he didn't let her do it herself right that instant.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Rogue was hard at work. She had woken up early. She was drowning in regrets and what ifs as bad as anybody. Perhaps worse. Carmen should be alive. That blast was meant for Rogue, not Carmen.

Rogue needed to find a way to push the confusion and worry out of her mind. So when she had woke up at 6:30 from a horrible nightmare, she decided she may as well go and fix something for the haggard base of warriors.

She didn't know if she would be able to fix special meals given the massive number of people at the base, but she knew cooking would at least pull her spirits up.

She had started making scrambled eggs, cheating a bit by using Jamie's power to create duplicates of each egg she put into the huge cooking bowl. She added some vegetables and seasonings and let them cook.

She rubbed her temples and turned to the coffee pot. After setting it to percolate, she sighed and dropped into a chair and closed her eyes. Each and every one of the psyches she'd ever absorbed were trying to give her advice on how to feel better about the loss of Carmen. And it was upsetting her worse.

She stiffened as something told her somebody was creeping up on her. She scowled and turned around, striking a fighting pose. If somebody wanted a fight, they'd come to the right girl.

"Woah, hold de fire, Chére." Remy put his arms into the air. "Remy be comin' in peace."

Rogue lowered her raised fists in confusion. She had never ever heard Remy approaching her from behind before. His training as a thief gave him the ability to be incredibly silent. Apparently Remy was just as confused.

"Y' okay, Chére?" He asked gently.

"Ah...Ah don' know." Rogue said, puzzled.

"Remy didn' mean t' startle y'." He said worriedly.

"No, that ain' it...Ah heard ya." Rogue said with confusion penned across her face.

"So den why y' jump like de hounds of hell were snarlin' at yo' heels?" Remy quirked an eyebrow.

"No ya don' get it. Ah actually heard ya sneakin' up on me! Ah ain' neva heard ya befo'."

"Chére, Remy was not sneakin' up on y'. He smelt breakfas' an'...quoi!"

"Ah heard ya. Ah knew somebody was behind me. An' Ah wasn' usin' Logan's hearin' or nothin'." She stared at him. "Were ya bein' clumsy or somethin'?"

"Non, Remy don' t'ink so." He scratched his chin.

"Weird." Rogue commented and shrugged. "Maybe Ah used a power an' didn' know it. So ya came fo' food huh?"

"Oui, Remy smelt eggs an' coffee. An' yo' not de only person who be needin' de mo'nin' dose of caffeine."

Rogue frowned. "Shouldn' ya be restin'? Mesmero's assault on yo' mind was pretty nasty."

Remy shrugged. "Remy got a g'nite sleep an' took a few aspirin an' voila. No mo' headache."

"Are ya sure?"

"Roguey, Remy be a big boy. Can tie 'is own shoes an' everythin'." Remy joked. "Trust Remy, he know if he alright o' not."

"Ah guess." Rogue sighed.

"Besides, yo' une fille who be lookin' like she be needin' a good healt'y talk."

Rogue bit her bottom lip and looked away from him. "Ah guess Ah could use the company."

"Chére?" He asked in concern. "Y'alright? What Remy say?"  
"It ain' you." Rogue sighed, getting a distant look in her eyes. "Ah jus'...Ah wanna go home." She said sadly.

Remy moved closer. He could feel misery, guilt, horror, and shame rolling off her like water off a duck's back. But the biggest emotion his empathy read was fear.

"Chére...what happened?"

She whimpered and shook her head. "Ah don' wanna talk about it."

He gently took her petite form into his arms. "Shhh, it be okay." He murmured into her ear. "Y' can tell Remy."

"That girl died 'causa me." Rogue whispered, afraid he'd be disgusted or angry with her.

"What fille?" Remy asked gently, rubbing her back soothingly.

"Pietro's girlfriend. Carmen. Ah don' even know mucha anythin' bout her. An' Ah never will. Cause she's dead." Rogue murmured. Upon seeing his confused look she recounted the tale.

"What are y' talkin' bout, mon ange?" Remy asked quietly. "Dat wasn' yo' fault, Chére. Dere wasn' anythin ya coulda done."

"Don' ya get it?" Rogue hiccupped, tears streaking her cheeks. "That psychic blast was aimed fo' me. Somehow Ah made it go off at her."

She broke off and buried her face in his tee shirt. It served the dual purpose of hiding her tears and allowing her to embrace his warmth.

"Aw Chére." Remy said softly, holding her close. "Dat wasn' yo' fault. An' it wasn' Wanda's either. Or Quickie's. De on'y one t' blame be dat fou chienne, Phoenix V."

He managed to feed her a little comfort with his empathy. Just enough to stop her crying, but not enough so that she'd get suspicious.

"Chére, Remy don' know much bout dis kinda warfare. Mais he do know dat we can' give up jus' yet. Dis fight be crucial. We gotta stop dis once an' for all. An' we can on'y avenge Carmen's deat' by winnin."

Rogue forced the tears to stop. She looked up at him, and gave him a bleary eyed smile. "Yo' right. But it doesn' make the hurtin' go away."

"Non, Chére, but dat be what sep'rates y' from dem. Y' capable o' hurtin'. Means y' have a heart." He smiled as she pondered that. He looked over at the eggs, which had long since shriveled and burnt with Rogue's absence.

"Chére, Remy be ashamed o' y'." He waggled a finger in front of her face. "A Sout'ern lady such as y'self cookin' breakfast an' not even makin' de bare essentials."

She laughed weakly. "Ah wasn' thinkin' clearly."

"Well dat be alright, Remy be here t' save y' from certain disaster an' disgrace." He rubbed his hands together. "Y' sit right back an' let Remy work a bit of magic.

Soon the scents of bacon, grits, biscuits and gravy, and a fresh batch of eggs had filled the kitchen and was wafting around the base, drawing the able bodied legionnaires and X-Men from their quarters.

Soon the remainder of the uninjured Legionnaires and X-Men joined them. Every one sat down to eat. Rogue, Ms. Marvel, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Element Lad and Saturn Girl joined Mon-El and Super Girl at their table. Once Gambit had finished with his cooking, he joined them as well. The conversation soon turned to the battle before them.

Saturn Girl was the first to speak. "I think that we should divide ourselves into groups. Each group would battle one of the villains. We clearly outnumber them. The enemy is composed of 7 remaining villains. Cyclops II was rendered unconscious and was placed in the Phantom Zone when we hid the city. The inhuman elemental, Crystal Maximoff Summers is trapped in a power nullifier and will not be a factor unless she is released. Phoenix V, while a powerful adversary, has developed an uncertainty about her own abilities. When we were battling each other, I sensed remorsefulness about her, almost like she really did not want to be there. She is also teetering on the brink of insanity. Mordru, Mesmero and Apocalypse appear to be the strongest of our remaining foes. Universo's heart does not appear to be in this battle either. The Time Trapper is still formidable and needs to be neutralized."

"Mesmero is a strong telepath with the ability to use a super hypnotism on his foes," Jean Grey said. "He is also completely loyal to Apocalypse, and will not be turned away from his mission. Still, he has his weaknesses. He is prone to paranoia and seems to have claustrophobia as well. If we can secure him in a way that gets him enclosed and unable to control his mental processes, we can take him out of the battle as well"

"I know this is a stupid question," Scott began. "But how does one go about neutralizing a person who is able to manipulate the fabric of time itself?"

Brainiac 5 stared at Scott. "With a time neutralizer, of course," he wisecracked, laughing at his little joke. Everyone else laughed as well. Even Scott had to crack a smile. "Seriously, we need to get all of them into a power nullifier in order to neutralize them. We can't afford to allow the Time Trapper or Apocalypse to escape through time as they have done in the past. And Mordru is nearly indestructible. We can imprison him but he always manages to escape."

"How do we do that?" Asked Bobby.

"That is where the Legion Espionage Squad comes in." Mon-El said. "Their abilities make them uniquely situated to carry out this mission."

Just then, Element Lad moved over to the table. Invisible Kid, Phantom Girl, Shadow Cat, Nightcrawler, Duo Damsel, Shrinking Violet, Colossal Boy and Chameleon Boy followed him. "Did I hear someone mention the Espionage Squad?" Asked Invisible Kid.

Just as Mon-El was about to answer him, there was a loud boom from outside and the building began to shake. Ms. Marvel trained her x-ray vision outside. "It's Mordru again," she said. The legionnaires scrambled. They knew that if Mordru were there, the rest of their enemies would be there too.

"Stop!" Shouted Saturn Girl. "We can't just rush out there right now." The rest of the Legionnaires and X-Men halted in their tracks. Looking at Mon-El, Saturn Girl realized that he was in no condition to face the powerful sorcerer outside. "Mon-El, you need to stay inside and recuperate further. Super Girl, you are now in charge."

Super Girl looked around. Finally, she seemed to be making up her mind about who should confront Mordru. "Pyro, Do you have the ability to control any flame including one caused by Magic or Sorcery?" She asked.

Pyro looked at the maid of steel. "Well, Oy neva tried magic foire befor." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "But Oy'll take a whack at it." He grinned gleefully. He hadn't been allowed to play with fire so much back home.

"Good," replied Super Girl. I want you to join Saturn Girl, Rogue, Shadow Lass, Princess Projectra, Element Lad, Invisible Kid and Ultra boy on the team that confronts Mordru. Gambit, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Colossus, Super Boy, Shadow Cat, and IceMan will take on Mesmero. Blok, Wildfire, Star Boy, Cosmic Boy, Chameleon Lad, Duo Damsel, Ms. Marvel and I will take on Apocalypse. Brainiac V and Matter-Eater Lad will assist Rond Vidar in neutralizing Universo. Colossal Boy, Shrinking Violet, Phantom Girl, White Witch, and Dream Girl will attempt to subdue the Time Trapper. Karate Kid, Night Crawler, Lightning Lad, Light Lass, and Ferro Lad will try to take out Phoenix V. Remember we want their powers nullified. If it's avoidable, don't hurt them too badly."

Saturn girl spoke up. "Perhaps, Super Girl, I would be better served in assisting the groups attacking Phoenix V, than Mordru. She is a powerful telepath and my presence would be able to overcome that. Put Lightning Lad with Mordru's group instead of me."

"You may be right, Saturn Girl," Super Girl replied. "Lightning lad will join the group attacking Mordru and Saturn Girl will work with the group assigned to take out Phoenix V. If any of you complete your tasks, move over to the nearest group and help them. We have enough injuries to deal with. Be careful out there. Long Live the Legion"

Carol caught up with her sister. "Supergirl?"

The girl spun and smiled. "Call me Kara."

"Oh. OK. Kara, I've been wondering if you've seen my best friend, Carmen. She's the Spanish girl with a red stripe in her hair. I haven't seen her, and I'm worried. She isn't in any of the rooms, or the infirmary. And I haven't seen her since yesterday."

Super Girl looked at her younger sister and choked up. Tears started forming in her eyes. "Yes, Kiral," replied Super Girl, using her sister's Kryptonian name. "I do know what has happened to Carmen."

Then Super Girl began telling Ms Marvel the story of how she had found the cave they had been in and transported the injured to before restoring the city of Metropolis. She also told her how she had found Carmen's headless body and her detached head, and wrapped them in her cape and buried them outside the cave. Carmen would be buried with full legion honors after the battle was over. "Unfortunately, Kiral, I do not yet know how she died but we will find that out soon enough."

When Kiral heard her friend had been killed, she began weeping softly. Super Girl put her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Try to pull yourself together, sis. We have more tough battles to face, today. Carmen may have been the first Legionnaire to perish in this war, but let's not allow you to join her in that honor or to allow her to die in vain." Then Super Girl and Ms Marvel moved to join the rest of their group.

As Super Girl finished her orders, the groups all gathered together. Each Legionnaire or X-Man was carrying a power nullifier on their belts. Each of the members of the Espionage Squad was carrying two power nullifiers and was leading their respective teams out of the Legion Headquarters. Saturn Girl watched as her group took to the skies in search of Phoenix V. Phoenix V saw them coming. She unleashed a psychic barrage at Karate Kid and Ferro lad. Ferro Lad turned himself to Iron and Karate kid, with his intense mental discipline, was able to dodge the blast. Suddenly, she saw Saturn Girl flying towards her. She contemplated taking on Titan's most powerful telepath once again but remembered her previous encounter with Jean Grey and Saturn Girl. Then Phoenix V did an unusual thing. She raised her hands and descended to the ground. Once on the ground, she sank to her knees and turned off her flames. Imra and her fellow Legionnaires followed her to the ground, stunned.

Saturn Girl slowly approached the girl. "Are you surrendering, Phoenix?" She asked in a surprised voice.

Phoenix V nodded her head. "Yes, I surrender," she replied in a tired little girl voice. "I want to go home. And I want my brother. And most of all I just want out of this damn war."

Saturn Girl nodded to Night Crawler. He calmly teleported over to where Phoenix V was kneeling and put the power nullifier around her neck. Phoenix was now a prisoner. Then Kurt grasped her arm and teleported both of them to Legion Headquarters. Once inside, he turned her over to Mon-El who quietly led her down to the detention levels. After he placed her in a cell and locked the door, Mon-El turned his attention to the other occupant in the detention level. Micro Lad was sitting quietly in his cell when Mon-El walked over to him. Micro Lad moved over near the cell door when Mon-El called him. Mon-el entered the cell and placed his power nullifier around Micro Lad's neck.

"What is this for?" Lalo asked. "I turned myself in. I am not going anywhere. And yes, I know the phantom zone projector is not there right now. I have had a lot of time to think while I was imprisoned and in the 21st Century. While I cannot undo the horrible crimes I committed, I am determined to become a model citizen when I am released from prison.

Mon-El looked at Lalo Muldoon. "I have to do this, Lalo for a couple of reasons. One, you are right about the phantom zone projector being removed. I can not have you escape, and, two, until this war is over, you would be considered a precious commodity for our foes or they could endanger you. We owe you the right to a full opportunity to present your case in court. The power nullifier is for your own protection as well as the Legion's."

Lalo shrugged his shoulders in acceptance and moved back over to his cot. Mon-El then left the cell and went up to the medical facility to check on his injured teammates.

Meanwhile back outside, Kurt had teleported back to his group. Once he rejoined them, they all went to join the group battling Mesmero. This battle did not seem to be going well for the Legionnaires and X-Men. Mesmero was using his telepathic abilities to attack their minds. He would use whatever bad memories he would find in their minds to distract them. Cyclops had been forced to endure the plane crash that had killed his parents and separated him from his brother. Additionally, he had to relive the abusive scenes of his youth spent in orphanages and foster homes. When Mesmero had distracted his opponent sufficiently, he would unleash a psychic blast, rendering them unconscious. He had already taken out Cyclops, Colossus and Iceman when Saturn Girl's team arrived. Gambit was the next to succumb, as Mesmero utilized the same memories he had used the day before. Once again, Gambit's psychic shields and charged cards were insufficient to defeat the evil telepath. Super Boy caught Gambit as he was falling to the ground and gently laid him on the ground. As Saturn Girl's team arrived, Super Boy sped off to assist Shadow Cat. Kitty had just taken a massive jolt from some kind of ray gun that Mesmero was using. Apparently she had been able to phase through the beam the first time but was still weakened by the shot. The psychotic mutant fired another blast at Shadow Cat. This one never reached its intended target. Super Boy flew directly into the path of the blast. Unfortunately, this ray gun was a molecular disruptor. A hole appeared in Super Boy's cape and uniform. Suddenly, he felt like his whole body was on fire. The intense pain that followed caused the Kryptonian youth to black out. He crashed to the ground, screaming in agony. Saturn Girl used her flight ring to order Light lass and Night Crawler to transport the injured back to the medical wing of Legion Headquarters. Karate Kid and Ferro Lad looked at the unfolding battle and the injured victims. Both of them looked at each other. Ferro Lad looked at Super Boy and Colossus, both now unconscious. He immediately moved to help Light Lass and Night Crawler begin moving the injured teammates back to Legion Headquarters.

_"If this guy can take out Super Boy and the nearly invulnerable Colossus, He will be able to take me out as well even in my iron form," _he thought.

Karate Kid looked like he was about to go join Jean Grey and Saturn Girl against the mutant telepath, Mesmero. Suddenly, his decision was made for him. A psychic concussion blast had ricocheted off of Jean's Psychic shield and caught him square in the back. With a groan, he sank to the ground. Kurt had already teleported Colossus and Iceman to the infirmary. Light Lass used her power to make objects super light to transport Super boy and Gambit back as well. When Night Crawler returned, he was carrying a six-foot long board. He quickly slid the board under the now unconscious Karate Kid and teleported him to the infirmary as well. Light Lass and Kurt both returned to find a now screaming Kitty Pride on the ground. While the particle disruptor had not gotten her, she appeared to be in the grip of a full-fledged hysteria and panic attack. Night Crawler immediately teleported his teammate to the infirmary and deposited her in a bed right next to her boyfriend, Avalanche who was still mercifully unconscious from the previous day's battle. With tears in his eyes, her returned to the battle. He watched for a few moments as Saturn Girl, Jean Grey and Light lass all fought Mesmero. Light Lass directed her attack towards the molecular disruptor and fired three massive lightning bolts at Mesmero's hand. Electrifying the weapon caused him to lose his grip on it. Then She used her power to make it super light and float out of Mesmero's hand. Saturn Girl and Jean Grey, meanwhile were busily deflecting his psychic blasts with their psychic shields. Mesmero had not noticed Kurt's return. Seeing his opportunity, Kurt waited but an instant and teleported behind the evil telepath. Mesmero had just been hit with a blast from Jean Grey and appeared to be stunned. Quickly, Night Crawler took out his last power nullifier and snapped it around Mesmero's neck. Saturn Girl had seen Night Crawler and shot a blast at the nullifier, activating it for him. Mesmero glowered at the three Legionnaires as he realized that he was now unable to utilize his powers anymore. And to think, he had been one of the people who had developed and used the infernal device on other mutants and now he was caught in one himself.

Apocalypse saw the power nullifier being slapped on Mesmero's neck. He knew the device would be inescapable. Apocalypse had spent several hours the night before trying to remove the one from Crystal Maximoff Summers and had not been able to do so. He probably could have forced it off her using all of his mutant abilities but the ensuing concussion would have killed her. He still needed her until the plan was complete. He would just have to try again later to remove it. She was safely at their secret base of operations outside of Metropolis in her containment pod. In his own battle, he was busily engaged in mortal combat. Seeing his best horseman captured was distracting. He did not see Star Boy gesture with his hand. Suddenly, Apocalypse felt like he weighed 50 tons. He was beginning to sink into the ground. After a moment of surprise, he grinned and allowed himself to phase through the ground and come up behind Star Boy. He utilized the power of absorption on Star Boy and then turned his own power against the legionnaire. Now, it was Star Boy's turn to collapse under his own weight. He fell into unconsciousness. Apocalypse was about to dispatch the Legionnaire when he was hit by two beams of intense heat. Super Girl and Ms. Marvel were teaming up against him. At the same time, Wild Fire opened his visor and focused a powerful beam of Star Energy directly at the super mutant. He erected a super force shield around himself just in time. Then he tried to penetrate the minds of his attackers. Saturn Girl had just arrived to join this battle. She saw him defeat her close friend, Star Boy and was very angry. Then she saw him turn on Super Girl, Ms. Marvel and Wild Fire. She also noticed that Duo Damsel had not split in two but was hiding behind a giant rock. The rock appeared to have two well hidden eyes peering from it. Imra ginned at the sight. Chameleon Kid was providing the cover for Duo Damsel, hoping for the opportunity to slap a power nullifier on Apocalypse. Saturn Girl sent a psychic blast at Apocalypse, joining the fray. Being hit from four directions at once was very difficult for Apocalypse. He looked bewildered for a moment.

Mordru was also taking a toll on the legionnaires assigned to battle him. He was probably the most powerful of the villains and he enjoyed wielding that power. Invisible kid and Ultra Boy had already fallen. Ultra Boy was unconscious but Invisible kid appeared to be dead. Shadow lass was the next one to fall to the ground unconscious. Rogue saw her three teammates fall. Projectra was casting illusions to cover their disappearance from the battle. Rogue made her way over to her fallen comrades. She laid one hand on Ultra Boy and one on Shadow Lass. She absorbed both of their abilities and began using them against Mordru. She was also joined by Element Lad, who was busily changing the atmospheric elements around Mordru in an effort to render him unconscious. Pyro had taken on the attempt to control Mordru's magical flames that were attempting to consume the Legion headquarters. After a few moments he was able to gain control of the flames and move them back towards the evil wizard.

Meanwhile, Universo appeared to be conversing with the Time Trapper. He had stayed close to his master in order to prevent any suspicion being cast upon him. Rond Vidar, Braniac V, Colossal Boy, and Matter-Eater Lad appeared to be on the ground injured. Shrinking Violet and Phantom Girl were nowhere to be seen. Light Lass, Jean Grey, Ferro Lad and Night Crawler were moving over to help the White Witch and her sister, Dream Girl in their battle with the vicious pair. White Witch was busily hurling magical bolts of power at the Time Trapper and Universo. The Time Trapper kept manipulating the time stream to evade the magic bolts. The White Witch was beginning to tire from her exertions when Light Lass and her group joined the fray. Light Lass aimed a bolt of lightning at Universo. At the same time, Jean Grey was probing The Time Trapper's mind. Like Phoenix V, she was unable to make any sense of the workings of the villain's mind. Kurt bampfed behind the two villains. He had secured a power nullifier From Rond Vidar's unconscious body and was preparing to try to snap it around the Time Trapper. Suddenly, a bright green stream of energy hit him in the back, causing him to black out. When he awoke, he found the power nullifier around his own neck and the Time Trapper and Universo were gone. Apocalypse and Mordru had also disappeared. The Legionnaires looked stunned. Slowly, all of the uninjured began moving together. The only ones who were not injured or unconscious, were Phantom girl, Shrinking Violet, Super Girl, Jean Grey, Ms. Marvel, Ferro Lad, Wild fire, Duo Damsel, Chameleon Kid, Light lass, Lightning Lad, Ultra Boy, Rogue, Element Lad and Saturn Girl. It had not been a good day for the Legion and X-Men casualties. The group looked around at their fallen teammates. Slowly, they all began to pick up the injured casualties. and bring them back to Legion Headquarters. Along the way back, Saturn girl remembered that she had placed Mesmero in a tree for safekeeping. She went and collected the angry glowering, evil mutant and harshly shoved him into one of the detention cells at Legion HQ.

****

Well that is it for this chapter. Four baddies down and four to go. Cyclops II is in the phantom zone. Crystal Summers is in a power nullifier back at The bad guys base of operations. Phoenix V and Mesmero are currently in detention cells and power nullifiers, courtesy of the Legion. There is more trouble ahead for our heroes. They have suffered even more casualties and more grim news is coming. Will they have enough to take on the four meanest villains left? Stay tuned for the next chapter. But before you go, please take the time to review what you have read. Make use of fanfiction's wonderful tool to allow us poor authors to know what you like or dislike. Thank you and until next time, bon chance.


	13. Questions

_**End Of the World**_

_**Chapter Thirteen**_

_**Questions**_

Super Girl looked around her as she made her way back to Legion headquarters. Many of her friends were injured in the day's battle. Star Boy, Shadow Lass, Ultra Boy, Karate Kid, Shadow Kat, IceMan, Gambit, Colossus, and her cousin, Super Boy were all currently unconscious and showing no signs of improvement. She had taken a walk in hopes of clearing her head.

As she warily entered the headquarters, Lana approached her. Lana looked as though she hadn't slept, and Kara knew she probably hadn't, being too busy tending to the injured.

"How's everybody doing?" Super Girl asked in a quiet voice. She was startled as Lana met her gaze, tears streaming down her face. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Lana sighed. "Blok and Invisible Kid are dead. Their injuries were too much for them to heal." She choked on a sob. "I was there...I was bandaging an injury that X-men girl Shadowcat obtained from that ray gun. All of a sudden one of them cried out and then...they both flat-lined." She cried.

"Oh no..." Super Girl gasped. "Oh Lana, I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you."

Lana shook her head. "This war is horrible." Her voice was soft, almost to breaking point. "Most of our team is at least temporarily out of commission. Braniac 5 has been comatose since the fight. And Rond Vidar just slipped into a coma of his own. And that's just us." She looked haunted. "The X-men are taking losses too. And they didn't know what they were getting into when they agreed to help us, I'm afraid."

Super Girl felt misery rise to greet her. Her breath felt tight and her head spun as she thought of this whole ordeal. In most situations, Super Girl could handle emotional hurdles, but all these awful things kept happening in succession, leaving no time to get over one before another happened. It hurt worst because she felt this whole mess was her fault. She had been the one to deploy the groups. Tears fell down her cheeks.

Lana's com-link buzzed and she blinked warily, afraid of the bad news that awaited her.

"Lana, it's Saturn Girl." Saturn Girl's voice cracked with emotion.

"What happened?" Lana asked quietly, fearful of the answer.

"It's Super Boy, Lana. He...isn't doing very well."

"What do you mean?" Super Girl snapped quickly into action. "What is wrong with my cousin?"

"Kara, I need you and Lana down in the infirmary ASAP." Saturn Girl sounded very grim. "We have a full blown emergency on our hands."

Lana exchanged a terrified glance with Kara. "We're on our way."

The two hurried down to the infirmary. Saturn Girl, with a tear streaked face was waiting for them.

"Lana, Kara, I have some bad news for you. I already got in contact with Pete, Kiral, and Mon-El."

Super Girl knew it was serious as Saturn Girl was so grim and addressing them by their real names, something the Legion generally avoided unless absolutely necessary.

"Where's Clark?" Kara asked hoping for a positive answer.

Saturn Girl looked deeply disturbed. "It seems Super Boy isn't quite as indestructible as we would all like to believe." With that she led the way through the infirmary.

Kara's breath caught a hitch as the group passed bed after bed of her friends and teammates. They arrived at the hospital style cot in which her cousin lay and she gave a startled yelp.

Clark Kent's eyes were closed and to the untrained eye he may have looked like he was sleeping. The machines and brainwave monitors attached to his body indicated otherwise.

"As you can tell Super boy has just lapsed into a coma. More startling than that, however..." She frowned and gently pulled back the thin white blanket which had been pulled up under the Kryptonian's chin.

Super Girl gasped in horror at the small hole which cleanly pierced through Super Boy's body. From the looks of the wound, which had the clean, finished off by a laser effect, it had missed his heart by about four inches.

"The wound is from a particle disrupter." Saturn Girl sighed warily. "It isn't bleeding, and I don't know if it will form the necessary scar tissue to aid in healing. There's a good chance Clark will not be able to last the night with his vitals exposed and so vulnerable. And...even if he does pull through this one, on it's way out the beam did a particularly nasty bit of trauma to the spinal region. Chances are, Super Boy will be paralyzed from the neck down if he manages to survive."

Super Girl cried out and fell to her knees, shock and horror making her unable to stand. Lana burst into horrified sobs.

Saturn Girl placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "As hard as it is to endure on a personal level, this causes bigger problems for the Legion. Super Boy has always been a symbol of strength and invulnerability, as well as one of our main power hitters. If our foe managed to take him down so easily, without even trying, we are in severe trouble. Who knows what this will mean."

Super Girl and Lana couldn't reply. Both were too busy trembling and sobbing for Clark. Saturn Girl observed sadly, their reaction was not at all unexpected. Super Boy meant a lot to both of them.

"I am sorry." Saturn Girl sighed, looking weary. "From here all we can do is hope for the best."

Lana nodded, looking paler than anyone had ever seen her.

She turned her gaze from the body of her friend and busied herself with examining the other patients around the room, carefully avoiding looking at the two beds with blankets pulled over the occupant's heads, indicating that the dead bodies had not been moved yet.

"We have a little bit of good news at least." She smiled. "It seems that Forge and Avalanche are no longer comatose. They are now merely sleeping peacefully as their bodies work to repair the damage done in combat."

"They're going to be alright?" Kitty asked softly as she approached from behind. Her big blue eyes, normally bright and full of cheer were clouded revealed worry beyond belief.

Lana rechecked the charts. "If they make it through tonight without relapsing into another coma, I'd say the odds are highly in their favor.

Relief flooded Kitty's features.

"Have you gotten any rest?" Saturn Girl asked suddenly.

Kitty shuffled her feet. "No. How can I? Every time I close my eyes I have this nightmare where we lose this fight. And I'm so worried about Lance...and everyone else too of course."

"Depriving yourself of sleep will not help anything." Saturn Girl chastised gently. "I recommend you head up to the room you are sleeping in and lay down for a while. I promise that I will alert you as Lance returns to a conscious state."

Kitty bit her lip and tried to stifle a yawn. After a stern look from the Legionnaire, she sighed and reluctantly turned to go. As she was heading out she frowned at the monitor showing Colossuses stats.

"What does that mean?"

Saturn Girl hurried over and paled. "Oh no..." She bit her lip and stared helplessly as she realized the downward plummet Piotr's stats had been taking since he'd been brought in and hooked up. His breathing had nearly diminished, his brain was showing very very little activity, and his heart rate was at a dangerous level.

"Please no..." She begged the monitor. "Stabilize! Dammit Stabilize!" She typed furiously at the computer console, cursing under her breath.

Rogue entered the room carrying a tray of pain killers, soup and iced tea for Remy. Upon seeing the commotion she frowned. "What's happening?" She asked in alarm.

Kitty turned to Rogue, looking panicky. "I don't know! I think...I think he might be dying!"

Gambit sat up abruptly, wincing at the migraine but ignoring it. "Petey be dyin'? How!" Rogue used Ms. Marvel's super strength to force him back onto the bed.

"Don't, ya gotta stay." Rogue said sternly.

Pyro rushed across the room from where he'd been tending the other patients. "What the bloody Hell you talkin' bout? Colossus can't be dying! He's bloody invincible!"

"Well so's my cousin, yet he's lying over there." Super Girl gestured frantically, on the verge of tears. She felt so helpless about not being able to stop this.

"His injuries are too much." Saturn Girl cried. "I'm losing him..."

Remy tried to struggle up, blinded by pain. Rogue bit her lip and helped him up. He limped to his teammate's bedside.

"Petey, c'mon don't do dis. Y' can' die, mon ami. Y' too young." He sounded like a lost, scared little boy.

Pyro was on the verge of tears himself. "C'mon buddy, don't die on me. You can't do this, mate. You gotta pull through this!"

Rogue set her tray down and moved closer. "Ya'll really care for him a lot doncha?"

"De homme be like a brot'er t' us, chere." Remy said in a strangled voice.

"He watched out for us when we was all with Bucket Head." Pyro said softly. "Always looked up t' the bloke. He was so strong. An' Oy always thought he was so indestructible."

Saturn Girl looked at the boys with a pitying glance. "Gentlemen, please, this is not going to be easy for you to watch. Gambit, please return to your bed. Pyro, you are dismissed.

"Sorry Sheila, but the tin bloke's one a me best friends. Oy'm stayin right where I bloomin' am!"

Remy tried to protest but stumbled against Rogue. She gave him a pointed glare and forcefully escorted him to his bed. "They're doin' all they can, Sugah." She said in a strange voice. She seemed like she was trying to convince him and herself. "Everythin'll work out. Y'll see."

"Chere if it was de Chatte lyin' dere, y' tellin' Remy y'd jus' let Remy drag y' away?"

She avoided his gaze, biting her lip. "Ah know it ain' easy but Ah don' think there's anythin' ya'll can do." Her voice trembled, she didn't want Colossus to die either. It was one thing to hear that Legionnaires had died, but it made all the more scary for it to be somebody she lived with.

Rogue was terrified out of her mind. The Russian had supposedly been indestructable. But so had Super Boy. Rogue had absorbed Ms. Marvel, and thus had felt a sense of safety in this battle. But if Carol's cousin could get so devastatingly hurt...she shuddered at the thought.

Suddenly the devastating sound of Colossus flat-lining pierced the infirmary. Pyro started crying, not caring who heard him. Kitty had tears coursing down her cheeks. Remy looked like somebody had just punched him in the stomach. He was too proud, tears would not come. But that did not stop the sob that bubbled in Rogue's throat. She found her vision clouding with unshed tears.

She was hardly aware that Remy's arms folded her into a gentle embrace, as much to comfort him as much as it was meant for her. She curled close to him and just cried. He buried his face in her hair. He didn't cry, but she could tell he was distraught, if by nothing other than the trembling of his body.

The X-men had lost their first casualty. Aside from the effects this could have on the time stream itself, the team would take this hard. Nearly all of the group were hardly more than children. And while there had been a few close calls, they had never lost a teammate yet.

Saturn Girl gestured for Lana to pull the sheet over his face until the body could be moved. Then she beckoned for Lana and Super Girl to follow her in exiting. She summoned the other members of the X-men to the infirmary after regretfully informing them of the death of Colossus. Saturn Girl understood that this would be a sensitive issue, and it would be best if the group were given a little alone time to process this news.

"_So much for invulnerability," _thought Kara darkly as she pondered the day's casualties.

At that moment, her sister came into the medical wing. Ms. Marvel saw her sister's tears and came up to her. "Kara, what is wrong?" she asked.

Super Girl turned to her twin and buried her face in her shoulder. She started sobbing uncontrollably. In a voice broken by her emotional state, she told her about their cousin's state. Kiral stood there in a state of shock. She could not believe that her invulnerable cousin, destined to grow up to be the most legendary hero of all, was in a coma. Kiral was also seeing the burden of leadership taking its toll on her sister. Through the sobs, she saw uncertainty cross her sister's face. She held her sister for a few more minutes. As she did so, she whispered words of comfort. All of a sudden, both Mon-El and Saturn Girl approached.

After a few minutes of mental conversation, they all agreed that Kara was under a lot of strain and needed to rest away from the battle zone. The pressure was taking a toll on her mental state. Kiral heard Kara sobbing once again. Through her sobs, she heard her sister quietly questioning her moves of earlier in the day. She was blaming herself because of her deployment of the Legionnaires and X-Men. Three more people were dead. Others were seriously wounded. Saturn Girl walked up to Kara. She grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Kara, you must not blame yourself for what is happening. This is a war. During wars, people get killed or wounded. You made the best decisions you could." Saturn Girl told her.

Super Girl continued to sob. Soon she was wailing about her poor leadership skills.

"Without my foolishness none of this would have happened! It's all my fault!" She wept. "It's all my fault!"

"Don't be silly Kara." Kiral hugged her sister in a soothing way. "You had no way of knowing what would happen. Don't go beating yourself up about something that's already in the past."

Super Girl choked on a sob and only cried that much harder. "But without me...they'd all still be alive! They died because I sent them into battle...me! Nobody else!"

Saturn Girl grew stern and frowned. "They chose to fight. They knew what could happen. You need to accept this, Kara-El. Death is part of life. Do not mourn or miss the dead. Be happy that their spirits have moved on."

As the young Kryptonian did not calm down, the telepath forced her way into Super Girl's head and triggered a fainting reflex. Super Girl collapsed in her sister's arms.

"I'm afraid the stress is too much for her to bear at the moment." Saturn Girl shook her head. "Mon-El, please bring her to the infirmary. Restrain her if you must but don't hurt her. We may need her strength but she is no use to anybody without the mental recuperation she so desperately needs."

"Understood." Mon-El nodded. "And Imra, I shall be returning to battle tomorrow." He reminded her so she would remember that he was the leader of the Legion, and while she was an excellent stand-in, she need not shoulder the responsibility of giving orders so forcefully.

He gently took Kara from her sister's arms. He turned around and Ms. Marvel followed him to the infirmary.

"Is she gonna be okay?" She asked, hesitantly.

Mon-El looked at her. He was still getting used to the idea that Carol Danvers was Super Girl's twin sister. After a few seconds, he responded. "Yes, Kiral, she will be okay. Right now, she is just stressed out from this war."

Carol looked at him. "I think it might be more than that...She is questioning every decision she made and her role as leader in the battle. She feels really bad because so many died under her watch, including the X-men's first casualty. Well, I suppose...you might call Colossus the second...if you count Q-pid." Her wide blue eyes filled with tears at the thought of her friend. "But that isn't even all of it! Our cousin is in a coma and earlier her boyfriend slipped into a coma of his own. There's a lot on her plate right now."

Mon-El was taken aback. He had not heard about Super Boy being in a coma or the news about Brainiac 5 either. Once in the infirmary, he gently lay Super Girl's unconscious body on a cot. As luck would have it, she was right next to Super Boy. He looked over at his "little brother".

Super Boy was breathing irregularly. Quickly, Mon-El scanned Super Boy with his x-ray vision. To his relief, he discovered that Super Boy's cell structure was slowly regenerating itself. Suddenly he felt a warm glow in the infirmary. Sun Boy had awakened from his coma and was using his solar power to radiate the infirmary with yellow sun energy. Mon-El felt himself becoming stronger and more clearheaded as well. (A/N The energy from our yellow sun is what gives Super Boy and Mon-El their super powers). Carol pulled Mon-El to the side. "What about Clark-er I mean Kal? Is he going to be okay too?"

Mon-El exhaled and smiled. "I just scanned him with my x-ray vision, Kiral. His cellular structure is regenerating itself. Our teammate, Sun Boy, over there is radiating this whole room with yellow sun energy. I am gaining strength and am recuperating from Mordru's magic blast also. We will likely both be at full strength in the morning. There is no sign of permanent injury to Super Boy."

Carol observed the boy in the bright yellow and red costume. He appeared to be concentrating very hard even though he clearly was in pain himself. Then she noticed the arm which was taped to his body and was in a clear restraint. She turned her attention back to Mon-El. She seemed to be on the verge of asking a question but decided against it. Mon-El noticed her hesitation. "Is there something wrong, Carol?" he asked.

Carol looked down. "I'm just thinking about my sister. Well, my other sister anyway...Betsy. We were adopted together. She was a healer. A mutant who could heal herself and others."

"Was?" Mon-El raised an eyebrow.

"She died in a car crash." Carol sighed sadly. "She was driving our parents to my high school graduation. She was following all the rules and everything, she never did anything wrong on the road. But then a drunk driver behind the wheel of a tractor trailer truck strayed over the center line and hit my family head on. The car then exploded. The police say my family died on impact, and failing that were burnt to death shortly after. The drunk got away with a slap on the wrist, a fine, a jail sentence of two years, and a broken leg. I miss them all so much."

"I am sorry to hear that. But may I ask what brought on this sudden nostalgia?"

"I was just thinking that maybe if she was here...we'd all be in better shape."

"Ah, I understand. However, as Betsy is dead, there is really no need to wonder about what ifs." Mon-El said in a gentle tone.

"I know..." Carol bit her lip. "It's just...I know my cousin and twin can go through time, as that is how they are here in the thirtieth century with us. So I guess I must be able to do it as well, right?" She waited for his nod. "I guess I wanna know if there's any way I could go back through time to before she died and bring her here with me. I know she'd be useful."

Mon-El just stared at the young Kryptonian girl. She had certainly suffered a great deal in her young life. Having the only family she knew taken away from her in such a gruesome manner would try even the hardiest of souls. Then to discover that she was an alien to her world with surviving family members would also be traumatic.

Knowing all this made his next words very painful for the Daxamite to say. "Carol, I know that you mean well by your suggestion. However, bringing your sister here to work with us would be very painful for you and would change the course of history. We, as Legionnaires, are sworn to not use our powers to revise the history of the worlds we inhabit."

Carol looked frustrated. "But aren't you breaking that vow by having the X-men here? Or my cousin and sister and Lana and Pete, all of whom belong in the twenty first century? Doesn't it change things just by having everybody here?" A thoughtful look passed the features he was so familiar with from looking at Super Girl. "And doesn't it play with time to have me here talking to you? And the bad guys that are here?"

Mon-El smiled in acknowledgement. "I understand what you are arguing. And we will deal with the consequences of these actions later, rest assured. I simply do not know if we could pull off what you are requesting."

Carol sighed and twirled a lock of her fine blond hair. "I suppose you are right Mon-El. It's just..."

"Hard, I know." He smiled. "If it would make you feel better I will run it by a few of the others."

Carol nodded. "Thank you. I would appreciate it."

All of a sudden, her sensitive hearing registered the muffled sobbing from where the X-team sat. She turned her head and frowned at the sight of the teams powerhouse, the girl who had accidentally absorbed her while she was a toddler, crying weakly into the flimsy infirmary issued pajamas that Gambit was wearing. The whole team was grieving and visibly upset by the loss of Colossus. Suddenly Carol's frown curled into a small smile.

"I may have a better idea." She said excitedly to Mon-El. "That Rogue girl absorbs powers. What if she went back to the past and absorbed Betsy?"

Mon-El frowned. "I am sorry Kiral. But that would effect Rogue's history far too much, to send her into the past where she will be forced to meet somebody she wouldn't have otherwise."

Carol's eyes lit up. "But that's the great thing about it! They did meet in the past!" She glanced back at the teenage mutant. She grabbed Mon-El and hurried across the infirmary at a jog, clearly forgetting her super-speed.

"Rogue, you remember my sister right?" She said excitedly.

The girl looked up, startled. She quickly wiped her tears away and pushed herself away from Gambit's embrace.

"Ah thought Super Girl was your sister." She said in a confused deadpan.

"Well yeah, she's my biological sister. But I meant my OTHER sister, Betsy."

Rogue raised an eyebrow. "Ah ain' followin'..." The girl frowned in confusion.

"Come on, you must remember her!" Seeing no progress she tried again. "You're name is Marie Anna Darkeholme, right?"

Rogue's eyes lit in surprise. "How'd ya know that?" She asked softly. All the other X-men looked up in surprise.

"You told me." Carol smiled. "In the Junior Olympics about five years ago. You shared a room with me and my sister, Betsy. We were from the Massachusetts delegation and you were with the Mississippi delegation but you shared a room with us because all the rooms for the other kids in your group were full."

Suddenly, a floodgate opened in Rogue's mind and a sea of memories surged forth. As she pondered these memories she realized that Carol was right. She also remembered that was when her absorption power manifested for the first time. After that incident, she unconsciously made herself forget the trauma.

"Yeah, Ah do kinda member somethin about that. But mah memory is kinda hazy about that tahme."

"Well, I don't need specific details. Did you ever come into contact with Betsy?"

Rogue searched through her memories of the Junior Olympics. After several minutes, she shook her head. "Mah pow'r didn' manifest until I collided with ya in ahr last race against each other. After that, it stayed dormant for several mo' years. Ah thank ma mama had mah memories modified o' somethin' so that Ah'd fo'git about that tahme," she said sadly. "Ah wish Ah could help ya."

"No, I know you never absorbed her. That isn't what I need to know." She assured the girl.

Mon-El had listened to this exchange with interest. He could see the wheels turning in Carol's head. He wondered if there was time to take Carol and Rogue back in time to before that fateful day. As he was pondering that thought, Scarlett spoke up from her bed. "How about sending Carol and me back in time. I can absorb Carol's sister's powers without harming her or interfering with history. Having Rogue do it could change history."

Mon-El realized his newest legionnaire was right. She could easily handle it. "The only problem with this scenario that I see, is the fact we are right in the middle of a war and can not determine when our foes will attack us again. Do we have the time to pull this off? And who would I bring back with me?" He knew that with the time bubble, they would be able to materialize back at precisely the same moment they left so that his question was largely rhetorical. Still he wondered what would happen if the Legion and X-Men were attacked shortly after the departure of the time bubble, when the traveling party would be absent.

At that moment, Saturn Girl re-entered the room. She had heard Scarlett's offer. While somewhat surprised, she realized the young Legionnaire was currently injured and would not be much of a factor in the coming battles. Quickly she was informed about their discussion regarding Carol's sister, Betsy.

She disagreed with Mon-El and Scarlett about Rogue not being able to perform the task. If Rogue had met the girl in her past, nothing would be changed. It might upset time even more to send Scarlet, who had never been there in the first place. However, Rogue would be needed in the battle. She soon realized the time bubble could return it's occupants to the exact time they left so there was no real problem.

"Mon-El, why don't I take the time bubble and go with Carol, Rogue and Scarlett to the 21st century. That way we can accomplish the mission and we'll have a back up plan in the event that something goes unaccording to plan. Scarlett is currently nursing bruised ribs and will be out of action for a little while longer anyway. It would probably do us all some good if we could put her to use healing those currently in the infirmary and Carol is emotionally distraught over her cousin and sister both being injured and needs to be away from the battle herself for a bit. As for Rogue, well she has already met Betsy and we need to stay as consistent as possible. It will do her a world of good to escape for a little while as well. I feel that young Jean Grey will be a competent substitute for me while I am gone." Saturn Girl said calmly.

Mon-El looked at Carol, Scarlett, Rogue and Imra. He thought about the situation for a few moments and decided that Saturn Girl's plan made a lot of sense. Carol and Rogue would have to protect the other two but should not have any problem doing that.

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Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Metropolis, Apocalypse was also contemplating a trip through time. He needed some mutant reinforcements to replace his four horsemen. Never before had he seen his chosen horsemen fail so quickly and so completely. Even Mesmero had been captured and his powers nullified. Mordru with his constant complaining and whining was also getting to the super mutant. He so desperately wanted to tell the super wizard off. However, he realized that the two of them would have to put their differences aside in order to defeat the combined forces of the Legion and X-Men. Mordru was extremely powerful in his own right and Apocalypse did not want to have to combat him as well as the Legion and X-Men at the same time. Apocalypse was wondering how a group composed of Mystique, Magneto and Mr. Sinister would work together. He had used Mystique and Magneto before but they had been defeated by the X-Men. However he also recognized that this fact would help to cripple the group as the children of the powerful mutants would be forced to be against their parents again.

On thinking about this new plan, he smirked. Last time he had overtaken the two mutant terrorists he had been greatly pleased by the darkness in their hearts. He hoped that the duo had not been changed by their last encounter. Their skills and faces would definitely be strong supplements to the bunch of ragtag misfits he had placed his trust in.

The only loose canon was Mr. Sinister. The scientist had once worked closely with Magneto, but then a power struggle drove them apart. Mystique had never trusted Sinister on account of his encouraging Magneto to perform heinous experiments on her infant son, the X-man known as Nightcrawler. However, Apocalypse was nearly positive he could ensure her cooperation, via force or voluntarily with a few well placed threats and empty promises of power.

The Time Trapper was also contemplating a trip through time. It had become very clear to him that his idea of pitting Mordru, Apocalypse and himself against the Legion (and the X-Men) was in danger of failing. He knew that he could escape to his hideaway at the end of time without any difficulty. He had been contemplating a radical idea for quite some time.

This idea revolved around creating pocket universes within the current universe. In this way he hoped to rid the universe of any trace of the Legion. This plan was untested and he did not know if it would work. The biggest problem he saw was not in the creation of a pocket universe, but the destruction of it.

Creating pocket universes required large amounts of energy. Destruction of the pocket universe would result in the energy being released as antimatter. Antimatter coming into contact with matter results in the destruction of both. The only way to insure the destruction of the Legion would be to put them in a pocket universe and destroy it.

Doing that could also result in the universe and the fabric of time itself being destroyed. He could not very well rule a universe which did not exist and he would also be likely to be destroyed in his effort. Being a practical villain, he knew he would have to find another way.

That is why he kept enlisting the aid of other super villains like Universo, the Fatal Five, Mordru, and now Apocalypse. The Time Trapper was willing to share his reign over the universe in order to get it under his control. This had been his undoing many times against the Legion. It seemed that though he was willing to share power his partners often were not.

Already he was beginning to see signs of power madness as he called it in both Apocalypse and Mordru. Once again, he began to make preparations to escape from the agony of humiliating defeat.

Mordru, however was not contemplating any escape through time. Instead, he was busily recharging his mystical energies in order to deliver a crushing blow to the Legion. He had decided that he would never again be imprisoned by the accursed Legionnaires, no matter what the cost. To him, this war was about his own survival. He would succeed in his quest to conquer the entire universe or perish in the attempt.

Unbeknownst to the three super villains, however, circumstances were about to unfold which would thwart all of their plans. Universo had decided he did not like the dwindling chances of their success and had decided to move in a different direction. He knew that he could not destroy the Legion by himself. He also doubted whether the combined might and power of the super villains he was allied with would be sufficient to accomplish this Herculean task.

Universo decided to send another message to the Legion. He had overheard Apocalypse considering his trip back in time for reinforcements, particularly Mr. Sinister, Magneto, and Mystique. He was also aware that The Time Trapper was going to use the pocket universe plan as a fallback in the event of another colossal failure. He had heard Mordru exclaiming that he would fight to the death this time. There would be no imprisonment this time around for the powerful wizard.

As he was about to seal the message, he remembered that his son, Rond Vidar, had been injured in the day's battles by a direct hit from a laser beam fired by the Time Trapper. Indeed, Universo had fired a similar beam at Brainiac 5. Unbeknownst to Universo, however, Rond Vidar had been hit with a molecular disruptor and was now fighting for his very life.

Knowing that his son was injured meant he could not use his normal means of communication. Instead he utilized a small robot plane and addressed the communication to the Legion leadership. Once it was sent, he said. "_That is the best I can do now. I only hope the Legion can find a way to stop the time travels of Apocalypse and Time Trapper," _he thought. His reasoning was that If the Legion could stop the three villains, he may be able to bargain for a lesser prison sentence because of his traitorous ways in providing information against them to the Legion.

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A few moments later, at Legion Headquarters, the tiny antique robot plane flew in a window and landed at Mon-El's feet. As he bent down to pick up the plane, Mon-El noticed a rolled up piece of paper sticking out from one wing. He quickly took out the paper and unfurled it. As he read the message from Universo, Mon-El realized that the villains were operating shorthanded. He also realized that he could not allow Apocalypse or the time trapper to escape through time, either to seek reinforcements, or to create the pocket universe scenario. He realized that it would probably be best to mount an attack on the villains base. He looked around and realized that most of the Legionnaires and X-Men were already turned in for the evening. Saturn Girl, Rogue, Ms. Marvel, and Scarlett Maximoff, had already left on their mission to the past. The one person with the authority to shut down the time stream that they could actually count on was currently battling for his life while in a coma down in the infirmary. Mon-El thought about Brainiac 5. He had the ability to shut down the time stream, but like Rond Vidar, he was in a coma.

Just then, Wanda, who's powers had let her heal enough to hobble around weakly on crutches, and the White Witch came into the room. They had been reading in the community room when they had heard the plane come through the window. Mon-El showed the three of them the message from Universo.

Wanda winced as she read the message. It appeared that the group would have to battle their parents again if Apocalypse were not prevented from going back in time. What they had heard about Mr. Sinister wasn't promising either. That mutant was pure evil. The two witches agreed that the group would need to go on the offensive to prevent Apocalypse or The Time Trapper from traveling through time. They decided that the attack would begin at daybreak. Mon-El then set all the security settings and instructed the three girls to get some sleep. The next day would be a very big day for the Legion.

**That is it for this chapter. Is anybody out there still with us? A lot of questions, a lot of trauma and sadness. The next chapter will present some surprises as well as answers. Stay tuned. But before you go, please review.**


	14. ATimely Surprise

**_Disclaimer:_** Any one who believes that I own DC or Marvel comics or any of their characters needs more help than I can give. I do not own them and the character, Magnum, is on loan from that great author of fan fiction, Slickboy444. He owns the character and it is with his gracious permission that I am using her.

_**END OF THE WORLD**_

_**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**_

_**A Timely Surprise**_

Saturn Girl called all of the X-men team who were not present to the infirmary where she broke the tragic news of Colossus' death. She felt awful for the shock that registered on their faces. This team of mutants had been through a lot but they'd always pulled through without problems so far. They had thought nothing could happen to them; they were heroes; they were the X-men.

When she told the young mutants, all of them fell silent. Some just stared at her, bewildered at what she was telling them. Many of them were disturbed by the news. If the invulnerable ones were dropping like flies, what chance did they have?

Jean was frozen with a horrified hand to her mouth, her breathing ragged. "No...Oh no!" Tears pooled in her eyes.

Kurt's breath hitched. "Mein Gott..."

Scott was frozen, paralyzed with guilt. "What have I done? Oh God what have I done?"

"Cyclops," Saturn Girl started. "All of you. I know this is difficult but you must calm down. You cannot blame yourself, any of you for what happened." She said sternly. "I must ask that you all head up to your rooms and rest. Losing stamina over the loss will help nobody."

Scott nodded numbly. As team leader he couldn't grasp the concept. Colossus was an invaluable team member even though he was one of the newer X-men. While Cyclops personally had barely spoken to the gentle giant, he knew the Russian born mutant was a fierce friend to anyone who he was close with.

"I am very sorry." Saturn Girl bowed her head. "He shall be buried with full Legion honors as soon as this war is over."

With that the X-men were sent back to their resting quarters for the time being. Their hearts were heavy with sorrow but the pain was partially numbed by shock.

About an hour later, Kitty had decided that she couldn't possibly sleep as she had been instructed. It was not for lack of trying; she had tossed and turned and lay there staring blankly

at the sterile white ceiling, praying desperately for a dreamless sleep to come to her. The tear-streaks on her cheeks told that it had not come yet.

She couldn't stop thinking about Piotr Rasputin. He had not lived at the mansion long, but she had bonded with him. She had seen the side of him very few ever did. He had shown her his paintings, and he'd told her stories about his childhood as a farmer's son in Siberia.

He had rarely smiled, but it was a treasure when he did. She had loved the way that his smile would reach his eyes, especially when he laughed. A new cascade of tears formed at the thought that now that deep and gentle laugh was forever silenced, and that wondrous smile gone.

She sighed and swung her legs over the side of her bed. She slipped her feet into the sneakers by the bedside and made her way down to the infirmary, the idea of sleep abandoned.

She told herself that she needed to check on Lance, and see how he was doing, but she knew the truth. In her heart she needed to see Piotr one last time, to say goodbye.

In another room, Jean was curled up against Scott, crying silently into his borrowed pajama top.

"Shh Jean." He whispered softly into her ear, rubbing her back.

"We've never had a teammate die before." She whimpered in a haunted voice.

"I know. I can hardly believe it." Scott sighed. "You hear about death in wars all the time, but it's not reality until...somebody on your team is the victim."

Jean choked on a sob and he held her close. "Scott, what are we doing here?" She asked, tears flowing freely down her face. "This isn't our time. This isn't our fight. This isn't our war. Why did we agree to this?"

"I don't know Jean." He shook his head. "We didn't know what we were getting into, I guess."

Kitty found the infirmary door and reached for the handle. All of a sudden she heard voices. Curiously, she paused to listen outside the door.

"Lana, you're from the twenty-first century, you don't know what I do of the future."

"I've seen the video tapes, Scarlett." Lana said kindly. "I know the past-my future."

"Watching the news is completely and totally different from living through the events." Scarlett sounded upset. "What happened here wasn't supposed to. I know my mutant history. Do you have any idea how much the two death's we've already had are going to mess up the time stream?"

Kitty's interest was piqued. She knew she shouldn't listen but she couldn't just walk away.

"He shouldn't have died. Something's going to happen, I can feel it." With that Scarlett sighed heavily. "I have to go down to the docking bay. I'm on the next time bubble back to the past."

"Take care." Lana said gently.

Scarlett opened the door and smiled at Kitty briefly before heading down the hall.

"Kitty, is everything alright?" Lana asked in concern, noting the deep tear streaks in the girls cheeks. "You're very pale."

Kitty started to nod before shaking her head. "Ye-No. No. I don't know." Kitty confessed. "I know that must sound really stupid." The girl sighed.

"Not at all, Kitty." Lana said gently. "I fully understand you are going through a tough time right now."

Kitty bit her lip and nodded. She headed over to Lance's bedside and attempted to study the charts. But they made no sense to her so she just turned back to Lana helplessly. "Is he going to be okay?"

At this Lana smiled. "He's just exhausted. As soon as he gets the rest he needs, he'll be fine. Maybe a little sore, but none the worse for wear."

Relief filled Kitty's soul at this reassurance. She didn't know if she could stand losing Lance too.

She sat beside him and took his hand, tears filling her eyes again.

"Lance, please pull through this, I know you can." She pleaded. A tear landed on his nose."

Lance suddenly groaned slightly and moved his head. He blinked his eyes open slowly.

"K-Kitty?" He asked drowsily, a slow smile working onto his face.

"Lance!" Tears filled her eyes and this time, she was crying with happiness.

"Hey there Pretty Kitty." He said weakly, squeezing her hand. "Did you get the license of the bus that hit me?"

She bit her lip and half threw herself onto him, hugging him as tight as she could.

"Woah." He blinked. "Head-rush. Kitty, I need to breathe."

"I thought I lost you." She sobbed into his neck. "I don't know what I would have done."

He hugged her back, struggling to sit up. "Kitty, what's wrong? Why have you been crying?" He traced the tear streams with a tender look.

Kitty found herself unable to say it. She just pointed with a shaky finger at the bed nearby, with a white sheet pulled over the head.

Lance grew pale. "Who...?"

"Piotr." Kitty sniffled. "He was hurt pretty bad. They tried, but...but..."

Lance felt his heart sink. An X-man had died? In battle? And one of the strongest ones too? What chance did the more fragile members of this fight have? He looked down at the top of Kitty's head and stroked her hair, gathering her into his arms.

From the corner of his eye he watched Lana regretfully move to Colossus' bedside and reach to disconnect the cords.

Kitty immediately scrambled from Lance's lap and shook her head. "Oh please Lana, don't. Like, let me say goodbye at least?"

Lana looked at the young girl with a pitious gaze. "Alright Kitty." She turned away. "I need to go check on a few other patients, I'll be right back."

Kitty stepped over to Piotr's bedside nervously and hesitated before gently pulling the sheet down. She found herself drawn to him. He looked so peaceful and still. She couldn't bring herself to speak to him, or say the verbal goodbye she wanted to.

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Meanwhile, Saturn Girl, Rogue, Ms. Marvel and Scarlett were setting up the time bubble to travel back into the past. The mission called for them to travel back into time to the day of the fateful accident, which had ended the lives of Carol's family. Rogue and the Scarlett Witch were going to try to absorb Carol's sister, Betsy in order to have her mutant healing ability available for the wounded persons in the Legion infirmary. At least that was the official reason. Carol hoped that they could actually rescue her family and prevent their deaths.

One minor detail she had not told Mon-El about, was a tidbit of hope which she was holding onto. According to police records the bodies had been incinerated. No bodies had been found in the devastating wreckage, so logically they must have been burnt in the flames from the crash.

The "official" story was hard for her to believe. She reasoned that since no bodies were recovered, it was possible that they could have been rescued in some manner. She had always held onto the hope that her family was somehow still alive. That hope had been raised to a new level when she learned of the ability to travel through time via the Time Bubble of the Legion.

"Ok, I'll need a few specifics like where and when are we going?" Saturn Girl asked Carol kindly.

Carol gave the address and then hesitated. "Can we go back to June 13, 2001? 2:55 PM?"

"That was very specific." Saturn Girl raised an eyebrow. "Is there something you are keeping from me?"

Carol looked away. "The crash was 3:01 exactly. I want everyone to have enough time to get the job done right."

Saturn Girl sighed as she caught a mental picture from Carol's head. "Carol dear, they died a long time ago. We can't save them from that."

Carol's eyes widened. "But that's the thing, there's no proof of that!"

Saturn Girl raised an eyebrow. "Honey, we may be powerful, but none of us can bring a dead body back to life." She said regretfully.

"But Saturn Girl, there were no dead bodies!" Carol grew excited.

"What?"

"There weren't any bodies. The police were baffled, and decided that my family must have been incinerated. But I don't believe that. I've looked into the accident and there is no way that could have happened. The temperature in the flame was not nearly that hot."

"I see." Saturn Girl nodded. "So you plan to rescue them from the car crash and bring them to the future. Have you told Mon-El your theory yet?"

"No," Carol shook her head and frowned guiltily. "I started to, but then he started in with this long speech about how we weren't to interfere with history, and the importance of not changing more than absolutely necessary."

Saturn Girl smiled. She knew that Mon-El had the tendency to be abrasive and a bit abrupt when it came to the possibility of tampering with history. After all, he had spent a thousand years in the phantom zone, helplessly unable to change many events, which shaped the universe, events that may not have happened had the young hero from Daxam been in real time. All he could do was watch these events unfold.

"Well I should probably run it by him, but we haven't got much time. As history would not change, I don't see the harm in attempting to rescue your family. However I can't promise anything. If there are any unforeseen complications, it is my duty to make sure that you, Rogue, and Scarlet get back here safely."

"I understand." Carol nodded. "Thank you."

Saturn Girl smiled and set the final calculations for the time bubble's journey. She then opened it up. "Everyone ready?"

The three girls accompanying her nodded and came forward. She watched as they cautiously loaded into the time bubble.

"Fasten your safety restraints and get ready to go back to the year 2001."

That said Saturn Girl launched them into the time stream. For a moment she wondered if they were doing the right thing. She rationalized that it would help the battle and that history would not be changed in a significant way as to impact what would happen in the future.

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Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Metropolis, Apocalypse was busy studying significant characters who might be able to help his cause. He knew that he was definitely running short on soldiers but then again, his forces had inflicted a lot of damage to the other side too. He felt he could regain an upper hand if he brought in replacement troops to strike while the X-men and the legion were still nursing their wounds.

He was searching time for the best to help in his cause. He would prefer willing recruits. It wasn't as if he couldn't brainwash anybody he so chose, it was just easier to skip that particular step in the progress.

Upon review he decided that Magneto and Mystique would be useful again. They were strong and gave him the advantage. As he knew of Magneto's relationship to Quicksilver and the Scarlett Witch and Mystique's to Rogue and Nightcrawler, he believed those mutants would hesitate to attack their parents, which could tilt the war severely in his favor.

The only problem would be what would happen if one of them were to refuse his offer. He believed Magneto would easily be swayed by promises of grandeur and power, as well as mutant supremacy being secured. However Mystique was more of a loose canon. She had a few major authority problems, especially when a man was acting as the master. She was her own boss, and tended to disrespect male leaders as a rule. She had been trying for a while to reconcile with her beloved son and daughter and was not likely to oppose them in battle.

Apocalypse smirked to himself as he thought how he could secure her loyalty. He could threaten the lives of Rogue and Nightcrawler, or better yet he could lie that the Legion had kidnapped them or worse. Or he could simply pull a leaf from Magneto's book and tell her that if she didn't cooperate, he would kill them.

Two new recruits decided, he continued his search. He paused as he studied history and noticed Mr. Sinister. Nathaniel Essex seemed to be just what he needed. He was a scientist who had a shady sense of ethics and a strong desire to rid the world of non-mutants. Apocalypse was encouraged at the finding of somebody with goals so similar to his own.

He was certain that Sinister would be willing to join forces with Apocalypse, the Time trapper and Mordru in the cause of mutant supremacy.

He continued searching for potential recruits and came upon the top assassin-for-hirer of the twenty-first century. She had been a woman known only by the nickname of Magnum. She was so named for her infamous talent with firearms, particularly the 44 caliber magnum she herself had constructed of adamantium parts. She was certainly an impressive find, as she possessed every genetic trait of a perfect soldier, and had no qualms about killing. She was one of the absolute best in her field of work, with her fluency in several languages and mastery of nearly every method-of-hand-to-hand combat known to the human race. The surprising aspect was that she had no known mutant gene.

This bothered the super-mutant, as he only intended to utilize mutants in his quest for power. He wanted to establish the supremacy of Homo superior and had little tolerance for the ordinary lesser species. Yet, he could not simply ignore the possibilities having such a prize in his ranks could bring. She was one of the top mercenaries in history, certainly one of the more notorious ones of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Apocalypse studied her carefully, and with each passing moment found himself more intrigued with her character. She had unsurprisingly been given a hero worshipping in all the world's assassin guild HQ's, taking on only the best she encountered as pupils. She had never failed once her sights were set on a victim, and she was unwaveringly loyal to those lucky few she grew close to and any causes she adopted.

As he pondered, Apocalypse found himself wondering if Magnum could possibly have her own latent mutant gene. He found the thought thrilled him. If that were the case, she was perfect for this war in every way. And even if she didn't naturally have any X-gene, Apocalypse knew he could splice her genes to get a satisfactory result. He avoided this scenario in most cases as it was a difficult process and there was no guarantee of the spliced organisms survival.

"_I wonder."_ he pondered aloud. "_Could she perhaps be a mutant with a latent or a suppressed x-gene? Or maybe could she have her own abilities? She was famous for her lifestyle of secrecy and intrigue." _

This suggestion was definitely a possibility. She had a relatively small paper trail, even for somebody of her magnitude. There was a severe shortage of information known about her, in fact the only really solid facts were her codename, her country of origin, and a rather impressively long list of victims. She had been in contention with Mystique on terms of mercenary nobility status and one of her more infamous pupils was also a high ranking assassin. Interestingly, this young apprentice in the art of killing came from the assassins guild in Louisiana and had the most fascinating connection to the young X-man, Gambit.

After studying Magnum's accomplishments for several hours and the methods she passed to her prized student, Apocalypse decided that Magnum would be a great addition to his cause. Before he would actually make her a horseman, he resolved to study her and decide whether she was in reality a mutant. He did not want to have to take the time to splice her DNA with a x gene. He hoped that she already had one, which accounted for her uncanny ability as a perfect soldier.

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In the time stream, Saturn Girl was busy with the controls.

"What are you doing?" Carol asked in fascination. Saturn Girl's eyes did not waver from the control panel.

"I'm making sure this time bubble is piloted to the precise spot in time we need to be. Even the slightest miscalculation could send us hours from the time we need to arrive at."

"Oh." Carol nodded. They had to materialize at the scene of the accident no less than one minute before the fiery crash. Then they would have to be able to enter the car and rescue Carol's family without being trapped in the accident. Imra wondered how this was going to work. Rogue and Scarlett were aparantly wondering the same thing.

"So Saturn Girl, how precisely are we goin' ta be doin' this?" Rogue asked nervously, fidgeting with a glove she didn't need to be wearing anymore but had yet to be comfortable without.

"Yeah, I mean do we have a strategy or something?" Scarlet asked sheepishly.

"Well ladies, I can only suggest that you to teleport into the vehicle, absorb Betsy's DNA, and teleport out with Carol's family."

"But wouldn't they kinda freak out if the daughter they're driving to New York to see suddenly appeared in the back of their car?" Scarlett bit her bottom lip hesitantly.

"Very valid point, Scarlet." Saturn Girl nodded.

"So what, should Carol jus' stay in hear till we get 'em?" Rogue asked.

"I believe that is the best solution." Saturn Girl agreed. Seeing Carol's disappointed expression she smiled at the girl. "Carol, I'm sure you don't want them to panic upon seeing you or alter anything that may alter history. Don't worry, dear, there will be plenty of time for you to spend with them."

Carol sighed and nodded. She understood the whys but that didn't change the fact that she really wanted to see her family again as soon as possible. She settled into her seat for the remainder of the voyage.

For a while Saturn Girl was silent, watching the controls until her eyes widened and she cursed quietly.

"What?" Rogue whipped her head around to see what caused the disturbance.

"I entered a mis-coordinate." Saturn Girl frowned and adjusted the controls quickly.

"Can ya fix it?" Rogue asked anxiously.

"I believe so." Saturn Girl turned a few dials and breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, it is fixed." She paled. "Though we just lost thirty seconds. We are going to be cutting this much closer than I am comfortable with."

"What does this mean for the plans?" Scarlett asked timidly.

"Well the absorption of Betsy and the rescuing of Carol's family will need to go a little quicker than we initially thought. I will land the time bubble on top of the vehicle and you and Rogue will help teleport me into the vehicle. All three of us will grab one of the vehicles occupants and then we shall teleport back into the bubble.

"But what would happen if somebody else saw the time bubble?" Carol asked curiously.

"For obvious reasons we should avoid that scenario."

"But how-" Rogue started before Saturn Girl interrupted.

"All the Legion's time bubbles are equipped with cloaking devices. This helps us work in times not our own without detection."

"So this thing can get to any time ya want it ta?" Rogue asked incredulously.

"Certainly, as long as the pilot knows the destination and coordinates." Saturn Girl smiled. "I could personally take you back to the age of the dinosaurs, the French Revolution," She paused, smiling. "Or the wedding day of your best friend, Rogue. Or even your own." She nodded to Scarlett. "And of course almost anything in between."

All three of the younger girls accompanying her were impressed.

Suddenly a tiny beeping noise started and the girls jumped. "Don't worry, girls. That is just an alarm notifying us we are approaching our destination."

The trip had taken little over an hour, as the time bubble was at its fastest settings. These settings are not normally used because of potential disruptions to the very fabric of the space time continuum itself. In short, the trip was extremely dangerous at the incredible speeds the time bubble traveled at, but Saturn Girl didn't wish to alarm the others. A few moments before the time bubble was to leave the time stream, she sent a telepathic message to Scarlett to absorb Carol Danvers and to render her unconscious. This would help to ensure that Carol didn't attempt to follow, as well as making sure that Scarlett would be harder to hurt.

Scarlett reached out to touch her new friend. As their hands touched, Scarlett activated her absorption power. A surge of energy flowed from Scarlett's hand into Carol. A few seconds later, she had absorbed all of Carol's memories and superpowers. Carol was now unconscious in her seat in the time bubble. Like her ancestor, Rogue, Scarlett's DNA had been transformed into Kryptonian. She was now invulnerable and got her powers from the yellow sun. She also had all of her previous abilities.

The alarm grew more insistent and Saturn Girl slowed the time bubble. They had arrived at their destination. Then, leaving the time bubble cloaked Saturn Girl, Rogue, and Scarlett teleported into the Danvers' car. Saturn Girl looked up just in time to see a huge fuel truck which had just crossed the center line, barreling toward them at full speed.

The Danvers' were all screaming, a combination of the impending accident and the three people who suddenly appeared in their car. Joseph Danvers sharply jerked the steering wheel and tried to avoid the truck, but there was no way to get out of the truck's way in time.

"Rogue, Scarlett, now!" Saturn girl ordered. The two younger girls were looking a little panicky, staring at the truck with wide eyes.

They shook their heads and snapped out of their horrified trance. Rogue grabbed Carol's adopted father from behind by the arms and Scarlett reached for Betsy's hand. Saturn Girl grabbed Scarlett's hand and clapped a hand onto Marie Danvers' shoulder.

Just as the truck slammed into the side of the car and exploded into a huge fireball, they all teleported back to the time bubble. All three of the rescued family members fainted from the stress. Gently, they were strapped into the time bubble seats. As they departed into the time stream, Saturn Girl sent a message through her ring to Mon-El.

"_We have them. Mission accomplished."_

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Back in the 31st century, Apocalypse had decided to seek the Time Trapper's assistance in bringing his new horsemen to him. He had decided that he would use Magneto, Mystique, and Mr. Sinister, in addition to the two assassins he had been studying. He was pleased to notice defined powers in the apprentice and was quite certain that she and her teacher, Magnum would be very useful to the cause. He wanted the Time trapper to bring his new soldiers through the time stream for the war.

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Over at Legion headquarters, Mon-El sent a message to Saturn Girl urging her to hurry up and to try and pick up Magneto and Mystique so Apocalypse would not be able to use them against their respective children in the war. He could not think of any way to contain Sinister, and didn't want the four girls who had gone on the rescue mission to be exposed to more danger than they already were in without backup. He decided that right now, they shouldn't take on Sinister as it was simply too dangerous without help. Unfortunately, Mon-El did not know about Magnum and Bella Donna.

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Back in the 21st century, the legion time bubble was just about to enter the time stream to return to the future, when Saturn Girl received Mon-El's message. Immediately, she looked at Rogue.

"Where can we find Magneto and Mystique, Rogue?" She asked. "Mon-El wants us to bring them back as well. Apparently, Apocalypse is seeking reinforcements for his four horsemen we have already captured and he has set his sights on those two. We are to keep them out of the war or on our side if possible. Can we do that?"

Rogue looked at Saturn Girl nervously. "Mystique is prolly at the Brotherhood Boardin' House. An' as fo' Bucket Head, well he could be anywhere. He has bases all over the planet from the Antarctic to the Sahara an' then there's his asteroid thingy." She looked apologetic. "As fo' whether we can take em and keep em out of the war, Ah don' know. We do have the element of surprise on our side and we can probably capture them using our abilities. The question is whether we can keep them unconscious long enough to put them in 'protective custody' in the 31st century."

As she finished speaking, Rogue noticed Carol Danvers and her family were beginning to wake up from their unconscious states. "See what Ah mean?" She asked as she pointed to them.

Meanwhile a short distance away, on the outskirts of Bayville, at an old rundown boarding house, Mystique and Magneto were calmly talking about their children, drinking tea and munching on cookies like any normal set of parents, despite them being as far from normal as possible.

The battle with Apocalypse had shaken them, and made them think about what was really important in life. Magneto still wanted power, and Mystique too for that matter, but she approached it from a different angle.

"Maybe we've been approaching this problem with our children the wrong way, Eric." She said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?" He frowned.

"Well, we've been treating them like enemies, and looking at them the way we have been, they are." She started. "Our children are mutants too, and I know they'd all love to live in a world without prejudice against them for being mutants. But maybe we should treat them as allies rather than opposition."

"I did try that with Wanda, it didn't work out." Magneto shook his head.

Mystique corrected him quickly. "No, you tried to force her to like you. You lied to her and took all she knew away from her."

"It would have worked had that son of yours and that Swedish Skiing instructor not interrupted." He reminded callously.

"No." Mystique shook her head, sighing. "It would all have been a lie. Shouldn't our heirs stand proudly at our sides of their own choice? Wouldn't it help us if they endorsed our philosophies willingly?"

"It appears age has made you soft, Mystique." Magneto smiled ruefully. "After all they've gone through, that is a dream further from the reaches of reality than even that of Charles."

"Neither of us are all that young, Eric." She reminded gently. "And we won't be here forever. We should have somebody to take our place and keep things the way we have been working for when we go. We will succeed in securing mutant equality but after we are gone, there is no promise it will be that way forever. Who better to take over for us than our own children?"

"Hmmm you do have a point." Magneto nodded.

Neither knew that their children were all in the 31st century, except for Rogue, of course, fighting another war against Apocalypse. Magneto was unlikely to admit it but he had been reformed after his time with Apocalypse and was proud of his children. They had both joined the X-men, as had the rest of the brother hood and all but Sabretooth of the Acolytes. He had worried that he had forever lost them but new ideas of how to change that ran through his mind.

Unbeknownst to the two former horsemen, they were about to have their privacy invaded in a big way. Two shadowy figures were outside the boarding house. Each was on a mission of their own. The apprentice was head hunting her fiancé, whom underground sources had revealed to be working for a mutant named Magneto. Her source had also informed her of the company he'd been keeping with a young mutant girl. This had made her flare with jealousy and prepare a strategy to win him back and kill her rival if necessary. Her teacher was here with an intent of revenge. Magneto was responsible for the death of her mother and Mystique had assassinated her father in Russia.

Magnum had teamed up with her best pupil, to accomplish her vengeance against the two people she hated the most. The two had spent many long hours preparing and training for this day. They had spent several days observing the two former mutant terrorists so they could know their opponents' every move. Now would be the time they would strike. They couldn't have planned it better, the two were together in Mystique's house and would be easy kills.

The younger of the two, a skilled assassin in her own right, had not seen hide nor hair of her fiancé and his new "love interest". This only served to fuel her anger even more against him. She knew he had lived with Magneto and had tracked him down hoping to find him here. She wanted information before she would allow Magnum or herself to kill them.

"_How Ironic," _she thought bitterly. "_To think, our wedding was supposed to unite our two guilds forever. Now, your cheating heart will be the death of you and your entire guild and family. There will be no need to unite the guilds since the thieves will all be dead."_

A wry smile crossed her face as she thought about what she was about to do. Her brother was waiting for the word from her to gather the assassins in New Orleans to kill the other guild's members at a moments notice. It would be a massacre far worse than the Al Capone- led St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago many years earlier. And she could rest assured that her beloved would never betray her again.

Both assassins took the previously agreed upon positions. Their plan was for the younger to enter the boarding house. She would play her part as a lonely fiancé and was to ask where the man she loved with all her heart was.

Once she had her information, she would draw her special gun. It was made out of a non-magnetic metal and loaded with special plastic bullets carrying the detonating force of ten pounds of c-4 explosives. Then Magnum, similarly armed, with her special .44 Magnum, would join her and they would both kill Magneto and Mystique. Magnum's revenge would be complete and then they would go the younger girls fiancé as agreed in the bargain.

"It is time, my student." Magnum said.

The girl nodded, a thrill running up her spine. "Let's get dis party started," she said with a smile. Then she walked up to the door of the boarding house and rang the bell.

Mystique looked at Eric. "Who could that be?" She asked.

"Would it be too much to hope that it's just a Girl Scout selling cookies?" Magneto asked warily, a sense of foreboding washing over him.

"Here? You must be kidding me." Mystique rolled her eyes. We never get visitors. Even Jehovah's Witness generally leaves us alone, having deemed us a lost cause thanks to something your daughter said to them." She smirked.

Then she got up to open the door. To her surprise a young blond stood on the door step. Her wide blue eyes were teary and she looked rather nervous.

"Can I help you?" Mystique asked suspiciously.

"Maybe, Ah dono, can Ah fahnd a man called Eric Lensherr here?"

Mystique looked instantly suspicious. "That depends on who you are and what you want."

"M' names Belladonna Boudreaux, ma'am. Ah'm jus' lookin' fo' m' fiancé."

Mystique gave the pretty young girl a glance and frowned. She looked relatively harmless, hardly any older than her own daughter, but Mystique had to admit that Rogue was hardly harmless. However this girl appeared to be nothing more than what she looked like, so Mystique cautiously invited her in.

"Come on in."

The girl nodded and sniffed. "Thank ya ma'am. This is the last place Ah could think of ta look."

Mystique led her into the room she and Magneto had been sitting in before offering the girl a seat.

"So you said you're looking for somebody?" She prompted.

"Yes." The girl nodded. "Ah'm lookin' fo' m' fiancé. Ah was told ta find a man named Eric Lensherr cuz m' beloved was s'posedly workin' f'r him."

Mystique glanced pointedly at Magneto before urging the girl to continue.

Belladonna sniffled miserably. "We were supposed t' git married but he had an accident wit' his powers an' took off runnin'. Ah guess he thought Ah would be afraid, or somethin' like that. But Ah'm not, really. Ah love him the way he is an' all that. An Ah miss him so much. He was everyt'in' t' me." She allowed a tear to fall down her cheeks, smirking to herself at her acting abilities. "Ah wanna find him an' then we can get married an' finally be happy. Please tell me ya can help."

Mystique looked wary. She had heard the name Boudreaux before, but couldn't place it. Magneto was studying the girl intently, trying to figure what it was about her he didn't trust. She didn't look like a threat, with her permed blond hair tucked into a casual pony tail, pale pink sundress, and white heels. She was clutching a Prada bag in her hands and looked like a typical rich girl.

"What makes you think you're fiancé is hear, girl?" He asked.

"This is mah last resort. Ah bin knockin' on doors all day. An' Daddy's gonna want me home at a reasonable time an' New Orleans ain' exactly a quick plane ride."

Mystique looked at Magneto and then back to the distraught young woman before her. She had a bad feeling about this one. New Orleans meant a few things to her. For starters, it was home to a guild of assassins. And another thing that made her very uncomfortable was that it was the home town of Gambit. Normally she wouldn't care but he'd had his sights set on wooing her daughter for quite a while.

"What's his name?" Mystique asked, fearing that she knew the answer.

Bella smiled. "His name is Remy. Remy Lebeau. He wrote me a couple letters at first an' told me he was stayin' in N'York, workin' for a mutant in some club called the Colites ou somet'in."

All the color drained from Mystique's face. The young woman was indeed talking about Gambit.

"_What should I do about this?"_ She thought. "_If it were me and my fiancé took off, I'd be looking for him to. But somehow I don't think she'd take too well to hearing that the boy's dating my daughter. She can do as she wants with the Swamp Rat but if she tries to hurt one hair on Rogue's head...Damn this is the problem with letting Rogue form attachments. Somebody's going to end up heartbroken, and I doubt very much it will be this one."_

"I haven't seen your fiance in quite a while," Mystique finally responded. "He quit working for us several months ago and we haven't heard from him since. I am Raven by the way and this is, as you may have guessed, my friend Eric," she said gesturing towards Magneto.

Bella whimpered and looked devastated. "Ya mean he's not here? Where is he, where is my beloved Remy?"

Magneto shook his head. "We do not know. He took off and has not made any effort to become in touch with us."

Her eyes flashed angrily. "Ah don' believe ya." She glared forcibly at Mystique. "Ya know more'n ya tellin' me. Obviously, Remy never told y' bout mah pow'rs. Prolly never learned bout em. But then gain, had the idiot not left he'd figured out that Ah'm a low level psion. Ah can sense ya lies. Tell me what Ah wanna know, or Ah'll just take it from ya." She hissed and before either could blink or sigh 'another telepath' she had pulled a gun and trained it at Mystique's head.

Eric had seen enough and tried to use his magnetic power against Bella to disarm her. To his horror, he discovered that the gun was not magnetic. Nor was she wearing anything metallic that he could use to his advantage.

"Now are ya gonna cooperate an' tell me where m' fiance is or do Ah have ta take ya heads off ya shoulders?" A now very angry Bella Donna practically screamed at them.

Both Magneto and Mystique went pale. This woman was going to kill them without any remorse. And the truth was that neither one really knew where Gambit or Rogue even were for that matter. They only knew he'd signed on with Xavier in a deseperate effort to get Rogue to fall for him.

Suddenly, something clicked for Mystique. She immediately realized where she had heard Bella Donna's name. This girl was one of the best-trained assassins for hire in the state of Louisiana, and the jury was out about her place in the nation. Raven had once worked with her father, Marius Boudreaux. However she had been unfairly jipped of her earnings so she had refused to team up with the guild since.

Raven was now as angry as the girl in front of her but realized she would have to be calm or she was likely to get killed by this violent tempered woman. "Did you say your name is Boudreau? Are you perhaps related to the great Marius Boudreau, the leader of the assassin's guild down in New Orleans?"

Before the girl could answer, another woman burst into the house. She was dressed all in black and was wearing two menacing looking holsters on her hips. In each hand were two jet-black Magnum 44's. Raven Darkeholme's eyes narrowed when she saw the newcomer. Suddenly her blood ran cold as she realized who was standing before her. The woman she had thought to be long dead was now staring at her with two guns pointed directly at her and Magneto.


	15. Rescues and Reunions

**Author's note: It is finally here. Chapter 15. Yay. The long delay was caused by several factors: Work, Heartsyhawk's trip to London, and wanting to do this one justice while fighting through writer's block.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the following: DC Comics, Marvel Comics, The Legion of Superheroes or any of their characters, the X-men or any of their characters. Nor do I own the character, Magnum. She belongs to Slickboy444 who has graciously loaned her to this story. **

_**END OF THE WORLD**_

_**Rescues and Reunions**_

_**CHAPTER 15**_

Mystique's blood ran cold as she recognized the woman standing before her. Dressed all in black and carrying two lethal handcrafted .44 Magnums, the woman was quite an imposing sight. Mystique thought back to the time she had last seen this woman.

It had been about 20 years earlier, in the conference room of a ritzy hotel in the middle of winter in Russia.

_It was the coldest day of the year in one of the coldest places on earth. Mystique had infiltrated a very private conference hosted by a kingpin of the local mafia. _

_She felt she was to be congratulated on her achievement thus far. If the rest of this hit went as smoothly as the first stages had, she'd be sitting pretty. She smirked to herself and spent a moment imagining the paycheck this hit would earn her before shifting the weight of her colt 45. _

_Well in all fairness, it wasn't really her weapon. She'd "liberated" it from the Pat Garret Museum in Oklahoma. It was the same gun used to kill the infamous outlaw, Billy the Kid. Mystique had always appreciated fine weaponry and seeing this one sitting uselessly on display hadn't seemed fair to her. So she had taken it into her possession._

_She took a deep breath and savored the excitement of the moment. She practically lived for the thrill that came before a hit these days. It was really all she had to look forward to anymore. Steeling her nerves she barged into the conference, a bunch of startled mobsters gaped at her before she fired a single shot which drilled a whole right between the eyes of the host of the conference._

_Pandemonium instantly broke out, with people screaming in Russian and running to avenge their leader. In the confusion Mystique slipped out of the room silently. As she left she noticed a young girl, probably no older than thirteen, run to the man whose life she had just ended._

_The girl was sobbing in horror as she hopelessly cried "Daddy! Daddy! Wake up!" in her native tongue of Russian. The instant she felt her father's hand she knew and in that instant she looked up with tears in vivid blue eyes._

_Tears weren't the only thing marring the girl's otherwise pretty face. There was a hatred so intense it practically radiated off her. Mystique felt the murderous gaze on her as she left the room and she heard the girls threat._

_"You will pay for what you've done, Devil woman. Mark my words. You will pay."_

_Mystique left with the girl's threats ringing in her ears. _

_A few days later Mystique attended the funeral for Sergi Noriscovitch. She was full of the self-loathing that seemed to tail her kills as of late. The thrill before the kill was always more exhilarating than the time before, but afterwards she had to live with pesky human emotion that had never been much of an issue before she was a mother. Now she felt guilt about her victims, wondering about their families, and if she'd just taken away somebody's mother or father. _

_This was her own way of coming to peace with her actions. This hit was no different from the others. She was hired to end this man's life but somebody else gave the order. She just pulled the trigger. It was strictly business. But while this man had done some terrible things, and perhaps even deserved death, Mystique felt obliged somehow to pay her own silent respects._

_So she sat at the back of the funeral home, in disguise of course. All went well until she saw the young girl up at the altar crying over her father's body. She sighed and a sad feeling filled her stomach. _

_Seeing this girl made her wonder about her own child. She had foolishly abandoned Graydon on his seventh birthday after finding out he'd never develop a mutation. Thinking of Graydon made sharp tears prick at her eyes._

_She had abandoned her son to save her relationship with his father which had been failing since the affair had produced the little boy. It hadn't worked and she'd lost her young son in vain, as Victor had taken off without any warning. _

_Often when a victim had children and Mystique witnessed them mourning at the funeral, she wondered if her own little boy would have felt the same. It was these times that made her want to find him, take him back, and settle down. With each hit she told herself this was the last one; the paycheck would be the last tainted money she'd need. But it was never enough and never lasted as long as she felt it should._

_Mystique was about to leave when the girl caught her gaze. Fury flew across the young girl's face as she somehow recognized her father's killer. Olivia, as one member of the family called the distraught girl, had somehow seen through Mystique's disguise and created a scene._

_The Noriscovitch girl pulled a stiletto knife on Mystique and savagely attacked, leaving several cuts in wake of where her blade touched. In her attempt to escape, Mystique pulled her gun out. She meant only to part the crowd and clear herself an escape route. However, Olivia Noriscovitch had leapt at her father's murderess and in the process the infamous colt 45 cracked into her head._

_The girl dropped like a bag of wet flour, blood oozing from a nasty gash at the back of her skull. Mystique took one look at the wound and determined it to be fatal. With the force the gun had connected with the young girl's head a fractured skull was likely._

_Mystique felt bad for murdering the girl at her father's funeral but decided that what was done was done and left. She sent an arrangement of flowers to the rescheduled funeral anonymously._

Mystique shook her head to bring herself back to the present and smirked at the irony standing before her. Apparently the young girl hadn't been as dead as she had thought. The memory of who ordered the hit on Russian Mafia Kingpin surfaced.

"I wonder Ms. Boudreau, have you not told your partner about your father's occupation?"

Magnum looked at Mystique incredulously before addressing the mutant in her heavily accented English. "I am very vell avare of Marius Boudreaux's occupation. We have worked together many times, Devil Woman. In fact I am the one who trained young Belladonna to be the assassin she is," she said smugly.

Mystique was slightly taken aback and more than a little confused. But she got over it quickly. "Well I certainly hope Marius pays you better than he paid me. The last job I took from him was when he decided I was no longer worth the promised sum. After my assassination of a certain Russian mob boss he cut me from the payroll. His rat of a son influenced him to not pay the debt."

Now it was Magnum's turn to be stunned. She looked like someone had just kicked her in the stomach. An angry scowl flashed across her face.

At this time, Magneto had seen enough. Seizing his opportunity caused by the stunning silence, he quickly pulled the adamantium guns from Magnum's hands. Suddenly a shot rang out.

Just outside the boarding house, the legion time bubble had just emerged from the time stream. Saturn Girl had already told Rogue that she would have to sit this part of the mission out because Mystique would be involved.

Rogue was disappointed but understood why she couldn't. Saturn Girl didn't want her to freeze up in the face of action when faced with the woman who raised her as a mother. So she reluctantly agreed to watch the Danvers.

Carol And Scarlett had just stepped out of the time bubble when they heard the shot. Both girls immediately sped towards the house.

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In the 31st century, Apocalypse was discussing the situation with Mordru and the Time Trapper. He wanted the Time Trapper to bring his new choices for horsemen through the time stream to help them take over the earth.

The Time Trapper seemed a bit hesitant to do this however. It seems that he was having second thoughts about this alliance with Apocalypse. Apocalypse and Mordru did not get along at all. Apocalypse was too bossy and did not hesitate to inform his colleagues that Mutants were Superior to everyone else and he was the most superior of all. As one could well imagine, this would set the Master Mage into angry fits.

Among the rages would come the inevitable threats of what Mordru was going to do to Apocalypse. The Time Trapper also realized that the choices for horsemen could be problematic. They were already in the heat of a war and there would not be adequate time to train the replacements or bring them up to speed. Also, the Time Trapper wondered about the original four horsemen that had come with Apocalypse. They were defeated quite rapidly by the Legion and the X-Men. He wondered whether replacements would be any better.

Clearly, Apocalypse was not the formidable talent he had envisioned in his quest to rule the universe.

Mordru watched with some amusement as Apocalypse pleaded his case with the Time Trapper.

Finally, the master mage laughed. "You are not as powerful as you thought, Mutant. Look at yourself. Practically begging for us to help you bring in more weaklings to help you. Why should we even bother helping you? It is not like we really need any more weak mutants to help us. What abilities do you bring to the table, Mutant?" Mordru spat at him. "Perhaps you can wow us with your own abilities. It is time for you to put up or shut up, mutie!"

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Meanwhile, over at Legion headquarters, the X-Men had all gathered together in the infirmary. They had all come down to say goodbye to Colossus. The gentle giant Metal man was laying on a gurney. He was still hooked up to the monitoring devices as Kitty had requested. Lana and Pete had quietly left the room as the X-Men had begun to file in. Clearly they needed some time to spend with their fallen comrade.

Lana made her way upstairs . She wanted to talk to Mon-El about the wounded. The infirmary was full. In addition to Colossus, there was also the matter of Blok and Invisible Kid. Both of them had succumbed to injuries and perished. The Legion needed time to say good bye to their fallen comrades as well. Lana wanted to know what to do with the bodies while the war was going on.

They could not stay in the infirmary as their beds were certainly going to be needed. She knew they would all be buried with full legion honors when the war was over. However the method of dealing with the bodies was one of the biggest talks of the hour.

Finally, Lana found Mon-El in the monitor room. He seemed to be deep in thought.

"Knock, knock," she called as she entered the room.

Mon-El looked up as Insect Queen entered the room. "What's up, Lana?" he asked.

Lana looked at the Legion's leader. He looked stressed out. "Mon-El, I need to talk to you about the conditions in the infirmary. You do know that there are three fallen Legionnaires there, don't you? Blok, Invisible Kid and the X-Man, Colossus are all dead. I...don't know what to do with the bodies." She said hesitantly. " Their beds are likely to be needed. Also, the infirmary is completely full. And while Clark and Super Girl are recovering from wounds, Super Girl is still showing the signs of severe stress.

Mon-El choked back the tears. Blok and Invisible Kid were two of his closest friends in the Legion. Now they were gone. Privately he wondered if there would be more fatal casualties from their ranks before this war was over.

Mordru, the Time Trapper, and Apocalypse seemed to have no qualms about killing any one who stood in their way. Only the Fatal Five were as trained in the arts of killing Legionnaires as this gruesome trio. He was suddenly thankful that the Fatal Five were currently serving time in the tightest intergalactic prison in the universe.

Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by another presence at the door. Super Boy and Super Girl were both standing there. Lana looked up as well.

"Clark! Super Girl, oh thank heaven!" Lana smiled at them. "The two of you had me worried."

Mon-El looked at his two friends. "It is good to see you up and about, Kal-El. When I heard you were in a coma I feared the worst. And Kara, You collapsed from stress. Are you sure you should be up out of bed?"

"We are fine, Mon-El," Super Boy replied. "Apparently Sun Boy radiated the infirmary while we were both unconscious. His Sun energy helped to speed up our recovery. I noticed a couple of bodies covered up, down there. Who did we lose?"

Super Girl looked like she was going to be sick. "We lost two more?" she asked sadly.

"No, Kara. Those two bodies are Blok and Invisible kid. You already heard about those along with Colossus, of the X-Men," Lana said. "Mon-El and I were just discussing what to do about them." Turning to Mon-El, Lana asked, "Where is Saturn Girl?"

Mon-El shook his head. "Saturn Girl, Ms. Marvel, Rogue and our Scarlett Witch have made a journey into the twenty first century. Apparently, the people who adopted Carol adopted another daughter as well, a mutant with the ability to heal not only herself but others as well. Rogue and Scarlett were supposed to absorb her and bring her abilities here to use on our wounded. From Imra's last correspondence they successfully completed their mission. However, shortly after they left, I received some information that our foes were trying to recruit new members."

"Oh no!" Lana put a hand to her mouth. "As if we didn't have enough problems as it is!"

"Do you know who we'll be up against now?" Clark asked with a heavy sigh.

Mon-El nodded. "I was provided three names. Magneto, Mystique and Mr. Sinister." He looked grim. "All of them are the enemies of the X-men. And each is more deadly than the last."

Super Girl looked nervous. "So the group of villians are specially targeting Xavier's team now?"

Mon-El shook his head. "They would prove fatal to anybody who stands in their way. But fear not. I have already sent Saturn Girl, Rogue, Ms. Marvel, and Scarlett to bring Magneto and Mystique here for detention or possible assistance for our side."

Lana and Super Girl sighed in relief but Super Boy frowned. "You mentioned three villains. What about that Mr. Sinister guy?"

Mon-El sighed. "He is the worst of the bunch. I could not, in good conscience send only four young ladies after this very potent villain." Seeing a sour look on Lana and Super Girl's faces, he added. "Please do not take my reasons as sexist, ladies." He said calmly. "Only one of their number is fully trained as a Legionnaire. Scarlett is a Legionnaire hopeful, but she has no training with us as of yet. Rogue has limited combat training but this guy is serious stuff and I would not want her absorbing him. We simply know too little about him."

"Anyway, they should be back anytime. We will deal with Mr. Sinister when the time comes." He sighed. "Now Kara, I believe you should head back to the infirmary and rest until later alright?"

She sighed and nodded before retreating.

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Back in the twenty first century, Both Ms. Marvel and the Scarlett Witch had taken off at super speed when they heard the gunshot.

Both of them crashed through the front door of the house. Scarlett raced over to Mystique and quickly tackled her to the ground. Ms. Marvel used her super vision to trace the bullet's path. She immediately stepped into the path of the bullet allowing it to bounce harmlessly off of her body.

Once the immediate danger was passed, she turned her attention to the would-be assassins. She focused her heat vision on the young girl who had fired the bullet. Immediately, the special gun she was carrying became red hot, causing her to drop the weapon.

"Merde," the girl swore as the gun dropped from her hands. "What's goin' on in 'ere? Who de hell are y' people?"

Magnum was still in shock. She had just found out that the man she had entrusted with her plan of vengeance had been the direct cause of her father's assassination. And even more unsettling, his son, the brother of her star pupil, made worse the entire affair by dishonoring the deal made with the assassin.

Her need for vengeance urged her to kill Mystique and Magneto herself and then she would deal with the traitorous Assassins' Guild. She immediately grasped the stiletto knives in either of her boots and was about to hurl them at her targets, when she heard a stern voice in her head.

Saturn Girl had just entered the building. She saw Magnum pull out the two knives. It appeared to her that the black clad assassin was about to hurl the knives at Mystique and Magneto. Quickly Saturn Girl assessed the situation and used her telepathic abilities to project a silent scream into Magnum's mind. "**_Drop those knives immediately. You are under arrest by the authority of the United Planets."_**

Magnum was startled at the voice in her head but she kept her hold on her weapons. She turned to face her new opponent, and was surprised to see a young woman standing before her. Outside of her outlandish dress, (clearly she wasn't from the local law enforcement), there did not appear to be anything especially dangerous about her.

She contemplated ignoring this strange young opponent so she could finish the job her heart ached to complete. Instead, She advanced on Saturn Girl. By this time, however, Scarlett had disengaged herself from Mystique. She used her super speed to close in on Magnum. Before the black clad assassin could reach Saturn Girl, Scarlett reached her and grabbed her by the shoulder. Magnum spun to try to fend off her attacker. As she did so, she was hit by a telepathic blast from Saturn Girl, effectively rendering her unconscious. Meanwhile, Carol had perhaps forgotten her strength in her battle with Belladonna and who was also unconscious on the floor with a broken jaw.

The battle was over. Saturn Girl, Scarlett, and Carol turned to face Mystique and Magneto. "We would like you two to come with us, please." Saturn girl said.

Magneto and Mystique looked at the three girls around them.

"Well seeing as you've left us so many other options..." Mystique grumbled and looked at the fallen attackers.

"Who are you and what do you want with us?" Magneto demanded boldly. He was really confused. The girl clad in billowing Scarlett clothes looked strikingly similar to his daughter, Wanda. Yet she seemed to have the speed of his son, Pietro. And then one of them had said something about the woman who had previously been attacking him and Mystique being under arrest.

Seeing his confusion, Scarlett stepped forward. My friends and I are from the future. We are members of the Legion of Superheroes. My name is Scarlett. This is Carol, and this is Imra." She deliberately left out last names and codenames as that information could be really confusing and possibly taint history. It felt kind of weird for Scarlett to be talking to two of her ancestors but she did not allow her feelings to interfere with their mission. "We have come to rescue you from assassination and kidnapping by a threat from the future.. We would like you to come with us for your own personal safety."

Raven and Eric looked at each other and then at the three teenagers before them. They had just seen how effective the trio could be in a fight and were each deciding whether to trust them. Silently, they both nodded. Saturn Girl led them outside the house to the waiting time bubble.

"Before we go any further, I must blindfold both of you." Seeing their puzzled expressions she explained further. "We will be taking you into the future by using very advanced technology that simply has no right being seen by anybody in the period before it is successfully developed, lest history change.

Magneto started to object when Scarlett walked up to him. Quickly, she grabbed his shoulder and activated her absorption power. Within a few seconds, he was unconscious in her arms. Mystique gasped when she saw what had happened. "I have never seen anybody but my daughter do that. You have powers very much like her, don't you? She absorbs peoples physical abilities, life force and memory."

Scarlett nodded, not confessing her heritage. Mystique studied the girl for a moment and decided she didn't want to be on the receiving end of that kind of power. She nodded. "There is no need for the use of force. I will go quietly. You may blindfold me."

Carol quickly tied a dark cloth over Mystique's eyes and face. When all was secure, Saturn Girl uncloaked the time bubble and Scarlett carried the unconscious Magneto inside and secured him to one of the seats.

Carol then led Mystique into the time bubble. Rogue fidgeted and looked uncomfortable but remained silent. Once everyone was secured, Saturn Girl set the controls for the exact time they had left the 31st century. Then the time bubble entered the time stream. As they were departing, Saturn Girl sent a message to Mon-El using her Legion flight ring:

"_Mission accomplished. We are currently returning to the 31st century along with our rescued passengers.'_

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

A few hours later, the group arrived at Legion Headquarters. Mon-El was waiting for them. Saturn Girl emerged first and had a quick debriefing with Mon-El.

He was furious with her for bringing Betsy and the Danvers' to the future with them. "You have interfered with history, Imra. You know that is against the rules," he said angrily. "You know as well as any of us that we are not supposed to change what happens. You were only supposed to absorb the healer's ability and bring Mystique and Magneto here for detainment. Do you know what this deviation could cause?"

Saturn Girl stood calmly during his rant. Finally, she spoke up. "I do not believe that I have disrupted history in any way at all, Mon-El. You see, Carol informed me when we were leaving that her family's bodies were never recovered from the accident. I believe that they were rescued in the nick of time by the Legion, On the way to the date of the accident in the past, I did a bit of research and guess what I found. Joe, Marie and Betsy Danvers mysteriously appeared in Metropolis in the 31st Century. A genetic profile found them to be the same persons whose bodies were never recovered in that accident just outside of Bayville, NY on that fateful day in 2001." Mon-El was stunned speechless.

"So you see, history has not been altered," Saturn Girl said smugly. "Only completed properly. And now it is about time we officially greeted our guests, Mon-El." With that remark, Saturn Girl opened the time bubble and escorted the five passengers out.

Rogue, Scarlett, and Carol left the bubble first. Then Saturn Girl brought out Mystique and Magneto who had just awakened. Mystique was still blindfolded and Magneto still a bit groggy from the coma induced by Scarlett. Rogue and Scarlett helped the still drowsy Danvers' out of the time bubble. .

"Welcome to the thirty-first century." Mon-El greeted warmly.

"Thirty-first...what?" Joe Danvers said groggily, rubbing his head.

"How did we get here?" Marie asked meekly.

"Yea, the last thing I remember was being on the way to Carol's graduation..." Betsy frowned, trying to remember.

"And a truck crossed into our lane..." Joe looked thoroughly confused.

"What is going on here!" Magneto demanded, trying to focus his eyes. "I demand an explanation!"

"Eric, we're in the future." Mystique explained quickly. "After that attack these people came and brought us." She stared around blankly. "Now am I allowed to remove this damn blindfold?"

Saturn Girl obliged and Mystique looked around and spotted her daughter. "Rogue!"

"Hi mama." Rogue fidgeted a little.

"What are you doing here?" Mystique exclaimed. "On that point, what am I doing here!"

"We are in the middle of a war involving several of the worst threats history has ever known. Rogue and several of her teammates are here to help the effort. We brought you here because the other side was going to try and kidnap you to use you in destruction of time itself." Saturn Girl explained.

Mystique nodded like she understood. She turned to the Danvers'. "Then who are they?"

"Young Betsy is a mutant with a very potent healing ability. We aimed to utilize her power for our wounded teammates. We heard of her from her sister Carol Danvers."

"Carol Danvers? _The _Carol Danvers?" Mystique gaped at the girl who was deliriously filled with joy upon seeing the family she had thought to be dead for years.

"Uh yeah, that's me." Carol said with a half-smile. She was uncertain whether it was good thing or not that a known assassin knew who she was.

"Wait, you know Carol?" Rogue asked in confusion. "How'd that happen?"

"Rogue, this girl Carol is a very well known vigilante in New York. Rumor had it she was a mutant and Eric and I," she gestured to Magneto, "sought her out for the brotherhood. She proved very hard to track as we initially didn't know her civilian ID. She was very careful to keep Carol Danvers and Ms. Marvel separate. When we did discover her identity Eric wished to approach her to ask her to join his acolytes."

"The team Remy fought on?" Rogue asked curiously.

Mystique felt her heart sink a little at the mention of the young man. She picked up on the subtle affection in her foster daughter's voice as she said the name and found herself hoping that Marius' daughter had simply been lying.

"Yes," Mystique said guardedly. "Gambit's team." She deliberately accent using the codename as opposed to the Cajun's first name. "But it seems you and Cyclops interfered with his recruiting of Archangel and Magneto decided to keep his recruits to non-New York natives."

While this exchange was going on, the Danvers' had all gathered around Carol.

"Would you take a look at our little Carol, Marie? Doesn't she look so pretty and grown up?" Joe said affectionately.

Carol smiled. Marie Danvers came around with a big grin on her face. "My, my, she is gorgeous." She beamed at her youngest daughter before frowning slightly. "But you're so thin, sweetheart, have you been eating well? And you poor thing, you look exhausted! You must not be getting a decent sleep these days."

Carol looked down at her feet. The truth was she hadn't been sleeping well since the day her entire family had supposedly been killed in the car accident. College courses in Astronomy and Journalism while moonlighting as a superhero didn't help much in that way either and now with this added stress of this war, sleep was an accessory she hadn't had much of.

"So Carol, why aren't you at graduation?" Betsy asked curiously.

Carol blinked. "Bets, I graduated over three years ago." She started slowly.

"But...that can't be right." The girls' adopted mother frowned, very confused. "We were just on our way to the ceremony before you and your friends brought us here and prevented that accident."

Carol shook her head and felt her eyes prick with tears. "They didn't prevent the accident. It still happened. The car was totaled and it caught on fire."

"What...what are you saying Carol, sweetie?" Joe Danvers asked in a soft voice.

"We brought you from June of two thousand and one. I come from the summer of two thousand and four." She said in a choked voice. "You never made it to graduation. I thought that you were dead. I have for the past three years."

After a half second, her mother and father were hugging her and crying and rubbing her back and she just cried weakly. She suddenly didn't care who saw her, or how anybody regarded it. She had sorely missed her family and now she had them back after so long.

Betsy joined the group hug. "I'm so sorry!" She said in a horrified voice. "This is all my fault!"

She was beating herself up over the circumstances of the accident. She had been studying to be a nurse at Boston University. Her car broke down the day before she was supposed to come to New York for her sister's graduation and she had called her parents for a ride. They had been roughly an hour away from her parents' house when the truck had starting coming toward them. Had she only asked her roommate Emma for the ride this whole thing may not have happened.

She could have kept weeping for hours but some sense of duty kicked in and she pulled away. "Wait a minute, we're in the middle of a war right now, right?"

"Yeah." Carol sniffed, pulling herself back into control as she understood her sister's point. "And right now lots of our people are up in the infirmary suffering from wounds." She smiled at Betsy. "We really need you in there."

Betsy nodded. "I'm more than happy to do what I can."

Carol grinned. "I knew we could count on you." She stepped up to hug her family once more. "And you have no idea how wonderful it is to see all of you alive after so long..." Her voice cracked.

Betsy noticed this but said nothing of it. "Off to the infirmary. Lead the way sis."

Saturn girl smiled at the reunited family. Rogue and Scarlett had been watching the heart warming scene along with Mystique and Magneto.

Mon-El sighed and turned to the two mutant villains. "You'll forgive me, I do hope, that my next course of action will be to situate the two of you into secure detention cells."

"Detention cells? Like prison?" Magneto's expression darkened. "We have done nothing to merit this obscene treatment!"

"I understand that." Mon-El said calmly. "However, we brought you to this time in order to protect you from being kidnapped and forced to work alongside the terrorists who are threatening the very fabric of space time."

"And who would these terrorists be that we should be so worried about?" Demanded Magneto.

Mon-El looked grim. "One of them is called The Time Tripper. He has the ability to manipulate the fabric of time. A second is an insane sorcerer named Mordru. He wields fantastic magical abilities and has even conquered many planets by himself. He has often utilized time travel, himself, and tried to take over Earth in the 20th century. The third super villain in this war, you are both familiar with. It is he who wants to kidnap you two. He is Apocalypse."

Both Magneto and Mystique paled at the mention of the Super Mutant's name. Mystique recovered quickly.

"But you would have my teenage daughter fight this war?" Mystique asked angrily. "You would lock two seasoned adults away while allowing a girl not even eighteen years old to fight this battle?"

"It's for your own protection." Saturn Girl said calmly. "Would you allow your pride to be the downfall of the entire world?"

Mystique crossed her arms. "I'd say we're quite old enough to protect ourselves just fine, thank you."

Saturn Girl looked at Mon-El helplessly. He sighed. "Fine, we will not place you in the detention wing. But should any problem or security issue arise, straight to the cells you go, understood?" Both Mystique and Magneto nodded. "Good. Now let us follow the others to the infirmary."

As they walked, Carol chatted animatedly with the family she had thought was gone forever. She cheerfully pushed open the infirmary door and was met with a sad sight.

Kitty was still crying softly over the still form of Piotr. Lance was silently rubbing her back and giving her the space she needed to mourn her friend.

Lana approached with a grim expression. "Kitty, I'm so sorry, but we can't just leave him here."

Kitty looked up and dried her eyes. "I know. I'm sorry I'm such a mess. Really. It's just...he shouldn't have died..."

Lana nodded. She did understand what the young girl was saying. She glanced at Lance who nodded in return understanding what she was silently asking.

"Kitty, he's gone." Lance said gently. "I think maybe we ought to let Lana do what she needs to."

Kitty sighed deeply. "I guess so." Her voice was small and quiet. She reached for the Russian mutant's hand and clasped it for the last time. "Good bye Piotr." She whispered. A single tear rolled down her face and something strange happened.

Betsy had just entered the room and suddenly her pretty brown eyes blinked a beautiful iridescent rainbow of color. The tear that Kitty had shed shimmered in the same unfamiliar but gorgeous way, right before it splashed onto Piotr's face.

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Meanwhile, back at the Brotherhood Boarding house in the year 2001, the two assassins began to stir from their unconscious state. As their eyes opened, a shimmering rip opened in the very space and time around them and somebody stepped cautiously out.


	16. Recovery and Preparation

At Last. The long awaited update to end of the world is finished. We apologize for the long wait. Heartsyhawk has been busy with Senior Year activities-She finally graduated with High Honors and Howlerdrode has been busy with his job and trying to get this one right. Summer is here so hopefully we will be better at updating.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following: Marvel Comics, DC Comics, the X-men, The Legion of Superheroes, any of their characters or Magnum. Magnum belongs to Slickboy444, who has graciously loaned her to this story.

_**End of the World**_

_**Chapter 16**_

_**Recovery and Preparation**_

Betsy had just entered the room and suddenly her pretty brown eyes blinked a beautiful iridescent rainbow of color. The tear that Kitty had shed shimmered in the same unfamiliar but gorgeous way, right before it splashed onto Piotr's face.

Kitty backed away nervously, staring at the glowing teardrop. All of a sudden, the heavy silence was pierced by a shrill blip. Every eye in the room turned to the monitor responsible for the noise. Nobody said anything and the machine gave another insistent chirp before falling into a steady pattern of blips and beeps.

Lana's jaw fell open as she rushed to the monitor. "This is impossible. It's a total physical impossibility..." She murmured to herself, staring at the screen in disbelief.

"What's going on?" Saturn Girl demanded as she entered and noticed the commotion around Colossus's monitoring scans. "Is there a glitch in the system?"

"There can't be." Lana shook her head. "I just ran the system evaluation program half an hour ago." She frowned. "The scans indicate everything is in perfect working order."

"Not according to the monitor." Saturn Girl gestured. "We're getting readouts on a heart that stopped beating and brainwaves from a previously blank chart!"

Mon El hurried into the room with the others. "What is going on in here?"

"A few moments ago, Colossus was registering as dead-as he had been for a couple hours." Lana explained. "Only now...he's not."

"Oh man." Lance gulped. "We aren't going to have to deal with a Colossus zombie or something ridiculous, right?"

"You, Lance, have been spendin' way too much time with Bobby, who's been spendin' way too much time wit' Resident Evil." Rogue chided.

Everyone fell silent and stared intently at the monitors, listening incredulously to the shrill beeps. Suddenly the metronome fluctuated wildly and to the absolute and total shock of everyone in the vicinity, Colossus's body gave a shudder and then coughed a little and his eyes fluttered open.

He gently turned his head and gave his audience a questioning glance.

"Oh my God!" Kitty stumbled further away from Piotr's side. Her eyes were wide as sauce plates. She clapped a hand to her mouth, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

"Katya?" The Russian said in confusion as he looked around. His voice sounded drowsy, as if he'd been sleeping for a long time instead of what had really happened. "What is happening?"

"You-you was d-dead!" Kitty stammered, shocked and confused beyond any level she'd ever been. "He was!" She looked around wildly. "Wasn't he?"

"He was most assuredly dead." Saturn Girl frowned. "And what's more, he has been for a few hours." She turned to Lana. "I do not understand what is going on. Has anything changed in this environment that would possibly have such an unfathomed effect?"

"No." Lana shook her head, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears. "Kitty just said a tearful goodbye and then all of you came into the room. Well, there was the glowing thing with that girl..." Lana looked at Betsy inquisitively.

"That's right!" Saturn Girl whirled to face Carol's adopted sister. "You're a healer right?"

Betsy looked startled. "Well, yes." She blinked.

"How do your powers work?" Mon El demanded as politely as could be expected.

"Well normally, when I touch somebody who is ill, my power fixes it somehow. It doesn't always work right away and it isn't always perfect--but I've never done anything like bringing somebody back from the dead before..."

"Well Ms. Danvers, as I am not qualified to offer any further explanation, I'd say your mutant powers have just advanced." Mon El ran a hand through his hair with a nervous smile.

"Wow." Betsy blinked. "I thought my powers were at their peak years ago." She sounded astonished.

"Bets, this is so beyond a power surge! You just made a miracle happen!" Carol told her adoptive sister enthusiastically.

Piotr looked horribly confused, though it was certainly understandable given the circumstances.

"I was...dead?" He frowned.

Pyro, who'd been sitting in a chair at Wanda's bedside and had long since been reduced to silent tears nodded and spoke in an awestruck voice.

"Dead as a doornail, mate." He sniffed and wiped his eyes. "I was here. I heard ye go flatline on us. Thought we lost ya, Petey."

Colossus blinked. "I do not feel as though I'd been dead." He confessed. "I feel as though I have merely been asleep for several long hours."

Remy sat up in his bed, a curious and relieved smile tugging the sides of his mouth. "Well den, mon ami, Remy'd recommend y' send de jolie fille a few words a t'anks fo' dat. Else dis time t'morrow y'd likely be six feet under."

Piotr's face colored slightly. "Thank you very much Ms. ..." He trailed off, realizing he didn't know the name of his miracle worker.

"It's Danvers." The young woman flushed slightly. "My name is Betsy Danvers."

"Then I thank you Miss Danvers; I can quite literally say I owe my life to you."

Betsy's cheeks flushed a deeper pink. "Oh, call me Betsy. And really, it's no big thing; you don't need to thank me. I'm happy to have helped. I mean, I didn't even know I could do that myself let alone by using the tears of somebody else and-" She paused. "I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"A little bit, yes." Piotr nodded truthfully.

"Well, Betsy, I must say you definitely have an extraordinary gift that could be of much help to the Legionnaires and the X-Men in this time of great need. I understand you have some training in the field of medicine?" Mon El asked inquisitively.

"Yes, I was studying at Boston University to be a nurse." Betsy nodded. "I was a freshman in the program but my professors all said I had great potential and an excellent bedside manner, especially for somebody so young." She shrugged.

" Excellent. Could I get you started tending to our wounded right away then?" Saturn Girl asked enthusiastically. "We do have many on the disabled list right now. Or would you prefer a while to rest and become acquainted with your new surroundings?"

" I can get started as soon as possible." Betsy promised. "I can explore later; right now there's work to be done."

With a curt nod from Mon-El, Betsy approached the beds closest to the door she had entered.

"Those first two are Invisible Kid and Blok." Saturn Girl sighed. "And they've been done for hours longer than even Piotr."

"Well maybe I should give it a try." Betsy smiled. "I mean, it worked with Piotr and I wasn't even trying..."

"Yes, I can see your point. Go right on ahead my dear, after all, what is there to lose?"

Betsy concentrated hard and the iridescent glow surrounded her again and in a moment, both the earlier casualties were sitting up and yawning, as though rising from an afternoon nap.

Betsy then put her abilities to an extreme she had never before tested, healing each fallen Legionnaire or X-man in the infirmary. The last two beds held the ever-impatient Maximoff twins. When Wanda felt her ribs mend and the bruising vanish she jumped from the bed hugging the girl and acclaiming her as her best friend.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou SO MUCH!" Wanda beamed. "You've saved my life. I was going to die if I had to stay here and suffer much longer! I wish I could somehow repay the favor."

Betsy laughed. "I'm happy to help. And it's nice to have one's talent appreciated."

"Seriously, I owe you one, a big one." Wanda promised. "If you ever need something hexed, look me up."

"I'll keep that in mind." Betsy nodded.

Wanda looked ready to dance now that she could move without the crutches and wincing in pain at every breath. And had anyone chosen to ask her at that moment, she'd have probably accepted any dance partner--even Toad.

Betsy turned to Pietro with a soft smile. She lay a hand on his shoulder and she closed her eyes as the sparkling rainbow healing energy flowed to heal his wounds. To her surprise, when she released his shoulder and opened her eyes, he didn't look much better than he had previously. He was staring blankly at the wall, with an expression of deep pain etched onto his features.

"What's wrong?" She asked; worried her power had failed.

"Sugah, ya fixed his body all right, but ya can't do any more fo' him, less them pow'rs a yahrs can mend a broken heart." Rogue said gently as she approached, a guilty look on her face.

Betsy looked confused and glanced at Pietro again. She looked back to Rogue who sensed the girl's lack of understanding and explained it further.

"A gal he cared about was one of the first fatalities in this fight. It shook him in ways I ain't never seen him shaked before." Rogue sighed. "Her name was Carmen, an' she got on the wrong end of a psychic blast that took her head clean off."

Betsy looked at the teenaged boy in horror. "That's horrible!"

"Made even worse by the fact that he was there when it happened." Rogue bit her lip. "He blames himself for not preventing it."

"Survivor's guilt." Betsy nodded sympathetically. She placed her hand on Pietro's shoulder and smiled for his benefit.

The rest of the Danvers family had long since entered the room and watched the miraculous scene unfold. Suddenly, Joe's eyes went wide as a blond girl who looked exactly like his daughter approached Carol.

Super Girl had just walked up to her twin sister. "Hi, sis. How was your trip through time?"

Carol looked at her sister. "Very good, Kara. She looked at Betsy. "Kara, I would like to introduce you to my sister, Betsy and my parents, Joe and Marie Danvers. Mom, Dad, Bets, this is Super Girl, also known as Kara-El. We're twins, and we were separated when we were just infants on our home planet."

Joe and Marie looked confused.

"Yeah, I know, it's weird." Carol smiled. "I just found out that she and I come from a planet about 50 light years away, called Krypton. Only Krypton exploded, so, here we are."

Kara looked curiously at Joe Danvers. "Mr. Danvers, are you perhaps related to a Fred Danvers from Midvale?" She asked, hopefully.

"How do you know my cousin, Fred, Super Girl?"

"It's a long story, but suffice it to say, I know Fred and Edna Danvers very well," she replied. She could not tell them that she was their adopted daughter, Linda. Old secrets are often hardest to reveal.

"It is okay, Kara," Saturn Girl said, noticing Super Girl's hesitation. "The Danvers family is going to be remaining here in the 31st century for a while and if they do go back to the 21st century, we will wipe their memories."

Kara now reassured by Saturn Girl's statement about the Danvers knowing her secret identity, decided to tell Joe and Marie about her relationship with Fred and Edna Danvers. "You see, Fred and Edna adopted me when I first came to earth about ten years ago. I am their daughter, Linda."

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Meanwhile, in the 21st century, two women were slowly picking themselves up off the floor. Belladonna was rubbing her jaw where Carol Danvers had slugged her. Magnum, on the other hand, looked about the room. Noticing that her intended victims, Magneto and Mystique, were not in the room, only served to fire up her angry mood even more. Adding insult to her injuries was the fact that Magnum's prized handcrafted guns were nowhere in the room to be seen. Neither woman noticed the figure emerging from a mysterious energy field in one corner of the room. Suddenly, the seven-foot blue skinned mutant known as Apocalypse strode over to where the two women were.

"Where are Mystique and Magneto?" He bellowed angrily. "They are supposed to be here."

Magnum stood upright. "They are not here. But even if they were, what use could somebody such as you have for the devil woman and her accomplice?"

"I am the almighty Apocalypse. Born to be king of this miserable planet and all the rest of creation. The most powerful mutant of all," he said in what would have been an impressive voice. "As for Mystique and Magneto, They will be serving as horsemen in my quest to rule the universe. And who might you be, insolent mortal, that you neither know nor fear the name of Apocalypse?" He demanded.

"My identity is none of your concern, mutant." She spat.

"I disagree, mortal, Apocalypse desires to know who dares speak to him in such a careless way."

"I will not share with you my real name, as only those who earn my respect gain that secret. The world knows me as Magnum: the most feared assassin in this world for several decades." Magnum narrowed her eyes.

"What has brought you to this place, Magnum?" Apocalypse smiled eerily, knowing he had found one of his intended horsemen.

Magnum glared at him suspiciously. "I was here to assassinate the devil woman who murdered my father, years ago. My protége, Belladonna, had her own motivation to join me."

"Interesting." Apocalypse's grin widened and he knew that two of his intended horsemen were in his presence. "I have heard of you, Magnum. You are well respected. By chance are you in possession of a x-gene? There is some argument whether you are a mutant or not."

"To my knowledge, I am not a mutant. I am the finest warrior in the history of Earth. I am the best markswoman ever and I fear no one, especially not a mutant like you," Magnum replied. "I do not need a mutation to be the best. I worked hard for that reputation."

Apocalypse looked at the brave assassin in front of him. "I am well aware of your credentials, Magnum. I would like to make you an offer. You and your protégé come with me into the future and help me to take over the world. You will be handsomely rewarded and given an opportunity to rule these puny humans with me."

Magnum looked at Apocalypse. "Why should I go into the future with you? Why can't you take over this time period? And why should I help you take over at all?" She asked, angrily. "It seems to me that mutants always think they are better than normal humans are! What makes you so much better than anyone else?"

Apocalypse was taken back by her outburst.

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Meanwhile, back in the 31st century, the legionnaires and X-Men were all gathering in the main meeting room. As everyone had taken their seats, Magneto and Mystique entered the room. Standing in the middle of the room, Mystique, was the first to speak.

"I hope that you all know what you are up against here. Being so young, you likely do not understand the severity of this battle. This is a fight for the universe, and all of time itself, as I understand it." She looked around at the gathering of youths. "Magneto and myself have been in such combat previously. And many of the X-men present know exactly what I mean. Apocalypse is relentless and will stop at nothing until he has achieved his goals."

When she had finished, Magneto then spoke up. "Apocalypse is a danger to the entire universe and the entire timeline. After serving under him before, I have learned the error of my ways. You see, prior to being one of Apocalypse's horsemen, I too sought world domination and mutant superiority.

I can understand this villain, and I can comfortably say he must be stopped."

Mystique started again. "If you would have us, Eric and I would be honored to assist in this battle. I am only familiar with the skills of some of you, and I realize that we are dealing with several super villains, but from what I know about Apocalypse alone, any help available is going to be needed. As we are older and more battle experienced than you, we may prove invaluable."

Mon-El and the Legionnaires looked at the two former terrorists. The X-Men could not believe their ears. Here were two of their greatest foes asking to help them in this battle. Finally, Mon-El stood up and spoke.

"We are grateful that you have offered to assist us. We graciously accept your help. Let me tell you what we are up against. Apocalypse, you are familiar with. The other super villains involved in this battle are a super sorcerer named Mordru; a former darkstar time controller named Universo, and a person who can actually control the passage of time. He is known as the Time Trapper. Each of these villains by themselves is extremely dangerous in their own right. None of them have any fear of killing anyone who gets in their way. In the event that you continue to decide to help us, you need to know that we are not allowed to take another being's life except in cases of self-defense. You also need to know that Apocalypse has already lost his four original horsemen that he brought into this battle. Mesmero and Jean Grey Summers are currently locked in power nullifiers and imprisoned in our detention cells. Crystal Summers is imprisoned in a power nullifier but we believe her to be back with Apocalypse. She has not been seen since she was put in the power nullifier. Sebastian Morrison Summers is currently trapped in the phantom zone, imprisoned in a block of ice. We also put the entire population of earth into the phantom zone for their protection. In short, Apocalypse is desperate. We learned that he was going to get you two involved along with another mutant, known as Mr. Sinister. That is why we brought you two here to prevent you from becoming his horsemen again. Unfortunately, we did not have time to find him as well."

Remy's face went pale, as if it had suddenly been bleached and both Magneto and Mystique looked horrified when they heard whom else they would be facing. Mr. Sinister was also a power hungry mutant terrorist with no qualms about who he killed. They had all had dealings with him before and were not looking forward to battling him.

Suddenly, the meeting was interrupted. A tiny robot plane flew into the meeting room. Magneto watched with a bemused smile as it landed at his feet. Bending down to pick it up, he took the plane to Mon-El. A piece of paper was attached to the underside of one wing. When Mon-El removed the paper, the plane started up and flew out of the meeting room and disappeared. Mon-El unfolded the paper and read the message aloud.

"**Apocalypse has journeyed back in time to the 21st century for the purpose of bringing back his former horsemen, Magneto and Mystique, along with the super mutant, Mr. Sinister, and two others, an assassin named Magnum and her protégé, Belladonna Boudreau. Hopefully the Legion will be able to stop this mad quest."**

When Mon-El had finished reading the note, a very noticeable gasp was heard. Everyone looked at the source of the sound.

Remy looked seriously on the verge of tears. He had jerked backwards in his chair and his breathing had grown shallow. His eyes were huge, and any observer may have noticed that he looked terrified, and strangely child like.

"Remy?" Rogue looked at him in confusion. "Ya okay, sugah?"

"Dieu, Mon Dieu, please no...Not dem, anyb'dy but dem..." He whimpered, seemingly not hearing her.

"What, what is it?" Rogue asked, very concerned.

"Not dem..." Remy choked and buried his face in his hands. Rogue put a hand tentatively on his shoulder. It was unnerving to see Gambit dissolved so completely.

"Remy, what's wrong, do you know about those two or something?"

He gulped. He sure did, and he wasn't entirely comfortable with everyone else knowing how. He'd had shady dealings with Sinister right after his powers manifested. He had worked so hard to bury that part of his past after Magneto had liberated him from Sinister, and he knew none of his teammates at Xavier's would ever understand or condone his actions.

As for Belladonna, well, any association with an assassin would be damaging to the reputation, but he would rather none of his teammates and friends discover his relationship with this particular one. Everyone knew he had a long history with women, and it was no secret that he probably had more names in his little black book than most of the prim and proper little X-men had in theirs put together, but none of them would ever have guessed that

There was a time when the Ragin' Cajun was almost tamed and he had almost settled down with one girl.

He was not proud of the player's reputation he'd earned anymore, but he could not bear to have the group who'd become his family learn the truth. The person he wanted to know least of all was sitting here in front of him expressing concern. He shuddered to think of her reaction when she found out about his ex fiancée. He had been striving for such a long time to gain her trust, and just now, as he was making progress in their relationship, he could not bear to have her learn about Bella, not this way.

Maybe if he told her now, it would help, and he steeled his nerve to reveal the truth.

"I...dey..." He blanked and suddenly stood up. "Y' wouldn' unde'stand!" He turned from the room and headed to his quarters at a quick speed with clenched fists. He mentally berated himself for chickening out as he left, but he needed time to think, to clear his head and figure out how to tell Rogue and everyone what had worked him up so much.

After Remy stormed out of the room, Rogue was left staring open mouthed at the door. After a moment she made a motion to rise and go after him, but to her surprise, Jean put a hand on her shoulder.

"Wait, Rogue." The older girl said gently. "I don't think you should go after him just yet."

"Why not Jean?" The headstrong Goth protested. "Somethin's very obviously wrong with him!"

"Just give him a little time, Rogue." Jean coaxed. "When he left his mind was a whirlwind of emotion and confusion. If you go for him right now, he's liable to snap at you."

"Jean, Ah ain't eva seen him that scared." Rogue frowned. "Just the mention of them names and he threw a fit!"

"Give him a little space. You can go talk to him after this briefing, okay? I just don't want to see you hurt over something he doesn't mean."

Rogue nodded and sat back down, throwing glances to her watch and then the door every so often in the duration of the briefing.

A few moments later, order was restored. Mon-El decided that now was the time to begin discussing the plans for the attack.

"We are going to have to set up the attack. The attack will occur at dawn. Everyone will be armed with at least two power nullifiers. We will be divided into several groups. The Legion Espionage Squad (Invisible Kid, Phantom Girl, Chameleon Boy, Shrinking Violet, Duo Damsel, Shadow Lass and Princess Projectra), with the additions of Mystique, Shadow Kat, Night Crawler, Insect Queen and El Fangor will try to infiltrate the villains' base of operations in order to take down any security which may be present. The next group will consist of Super Girl, Rogue, Ms. Marvel, Element Lad, Magneto, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Ultra Boy, Ferro Lad, Wildfire, and the X-Men's Scarlett Witch. Your mission will be to shut down all power to the base and try to capture the Time Trapper and Universo. The rest of us will be taking on Apocalypse and his mutant horsemen as well as Mordru. We must find a way to entomb them both. We will begin our attack at sunrise. Everyone except Element Lad, Rogue, and both Scarlet Witches are dismissed. Get some sleep. You four remain here with me for a few minutes."

Magneto heard his daughter's code name and looked up as he made his way to the door. She was standing tall and proud--a beautiful soldier ready to do what was required of her. She looked so very much like her mother had when he and Magda had first met. It struck Magneto that the little girl he held in his memory was long gone, and this strong and wonderful young woman had replaced her.

He wondered where the time had gone before berating himself. That was entirely on him after all, nobody told him to abandon her to an asylum when she turned nine years old. That was entirely his choice, as was leaving Pietro in foster care a week later.

Speaking of his son, Magneto was shocked to notice Pietro filing out of the room with the rest. It wasn't seeing the boy, as he knew Pietro had gotten to this time, but it was how the young albino looked that sent a horrified tremor through the master of magnetism.

Pietro looked paler and smaller than ever, and he had bags under his eyes--a clear indicant he'd either been crying or not sleeping or both. His hair was limp and not in its usually perfect style. Magneto knew this to be an entirely out of character display from his son, who had always been insecure about his looks.

But all of that could be overlooked. The worst thing was his eyes. Pietro's normally twinkling blue eyes currently were flat and listless and empty. They were haunted and overwhelmed with guilt. It was the unmistakable look that glazed the eyes of nearly every teenage boy who thought war was a grand deal--until he is actually in one. Magneto was certain that haunted look had been present on his own features during and after the Holocaust. This made him fear for his son, and realize that he felt really old all of a sudden.

Wanda watched as her father shuffled out of the room. She thought he looked like a tired old man who should not be involved in this war. With a start, she realized that Mon-El was talking to her.

Mon-El looked at Wanda. "What is troubling you, Wanda?" He asked with concern in his voice.

Wanda looked at Mon-el. "Magneto is my father, sir. I don't know him well because we have been estranged for many years." She replied. "Still, He looked so old just now. I wish we could keep him out of this battle."

"I can appreciate your concerns," Mon-El replied. "However, he and Mystique voluntarily joined this battle. But I did not request your presence to discuss her or your father." He raised an eyebrow. "I have noticed that your mutation is very powerful. Your abilities may prove very useful in the upcoming fight. But, as was proved in your battle with your future ex-sister-in-law, you are not invulnerable. I feel rather horrible requesting this, but would you object to having both Rogue and Scarlett absorb your powers?"

"No problem, Mon-El. I'm no stranger to Rogue's powers. She's absorbed me a few times in the past. In times of stress I like to think of that little period of unconsciousness following any contact as the only peaceful naps I can get these days...or anyway the days where I'm back home in my own time..."

"That's great, Wanda," Mon-El replied.

At that moment, both Rogue and Scarlett reached out and grabbed one of Wanda's wrists. Rogue had the left and Scarlett had the right. To her surprise, Wanda did not feel her life force or powers being absorbed. Wanda also noticed that Rogue did not render her unconscious as she had in the past.

"You can control it?" Wanda demanded.

Rogue smiled happily. "Yeah, Saturn Girl helped me with it."

"What do you think, is touch all you thought it would be?"

Rogue nodded. "It's indescribable. Ah don' think Ah could put it int' words, ya know?"

"I'm happy for you." Wanda returned Rogue's smile. "And I bet I know somebody else who is too..." She winked. "Maybe a certain Cajun Swamp Rat?"

"WANDA!" Rogue blushed at the implications. "He an' Ah are jus' friends."

"Right." Wanda snickered. "Just saying is all. I can't imagine he wouldn't be tickled pink about the fact that you aren't untouchable any more."

"Ah ain' talkin' to ya anymore." Rogue joked and playfully swatted at Wanda's hand.

When they had finished, Mon-El then directed them to absorb Element Lad. "Element Lad has the ability to change one element or chemical into another. For example, he can change the oxygen in the air to nitrous oxide. I need you to be able to control the elements around Mordru and Apocalypse. In this way, we may be able to entomb them without killing them."

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Apocalypse was in shock. Never before had a "normal" human stood up to him in such a way. Most people feared him. So stunned was he by Magnum's response and questions, the giant mutant was rendered speechless.

"Well, Mr. Big Shot Mutant," Magnum taunted. "Why do mutants believe they are so superior to us normal humans? Is it because of your "special" gifts? Many people have talents beyond the normal. Some of them are great athletes. Some, like me, are great warriors. Others are great musicians or actors or even government leaders. None of them are superior to the rest of humanity. How is a genetic mutation any different?"

At his shocked silence she continued. "I do not hold much store for dictators anyhow. In my lifetime I have seen many attempt to conquer everything, and each and every one of them fail. Hitler, Mussolini, Lenin, Stalin, and even your own fellow mutant Magneto. None of them have succeeded at the same goal. You, like those before you shall fail."

Apocalypse finally found his voice. He began roaring with laughter. "You are a brave one, Magnum. No one has ever challenged me like that before. You truly deserve your reputation as a great warrior. I look forward to working with you. As for why I am so much superior to you, I know. For one thing, I am immortal. I cannot die. For another, I can possess unlimited power. What normal human can do that?"

Magnum looked at him with disgust. "You think yourself to be a god? I pity you but I don't envy you. You can only feel hatred and anger. You demand to be elevated but you have done nothing to deserve such status. It must be a very lonely existence for you. Hasn't anyone ever told you that 'Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.' You are no better than the Czars or the Bolsheviks or any other power consumed dictator. Time and again the very people you seek to dominate will rise up and rebel against you. The legacy you seek will continue to elude you. You are not great. You are a sad excuse for a has-been tyrant. Even now, you seek others to do your work for you so you don't have to do it yourself. What a waste!"

"Magnum the fearless warrior! Why shouldn't I kill you where you stand, little one?" Apocalypse asked.

Now it was Magnum's turn to laugh. "What good will that do for you? It may massage your ego a bit but the reality is that you need me, I don't need you. I don't fear death. In my profession, it is expected. We all eventually die. You can't die so you can never leave a legacy. All you will ever have is an empty search that can never be fulfilled. Like I said before, you are to be pitied not envied."

Apocalypse was silent once again. He did not know what to say. It appeared that Magnum would have the last word. Silently, he turned around and made his way back to the corner of the room where his time portal was waiting. Turning, he said "I would still request your assistance in my take over, as an equal partner in conquest. Perhaps, you may also find what you seek in the future as well. Are you with me or not?"

Magnum and Belladonna silently moved over to where Apocalypse stood.

"Ah'm in." The previously silent blond stepped forward. "But only if ya swear that Remy's mine and mine alone."

"And if we have your word we are not underlings, rather partners--equals." Magnum asserted.

Apocalypse gave his eerie smile and a curt nod. Both assassins stepped into the time portal.


	17. The Legion Strikes Back

_**At Last. Another update to End Of The World is finished. We apologize for the long wait. Heartsyhawk has been busy with college preparation and her internship with the State department of Workers compensation and Howlerdrode has been busy with his job.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following: Marvel Comics, DC Comics, the X-men, The Legion of Superheroes, any of their characters or Magnum. Magnum belongs to Slickboy444, who has graciously loaned her to this story.**_

_**END OF THE WORLD**_

_**CHAPTER 17**_

_**THE LEGION STRIKES BACK**_

After Rogue had absorbed everyone Mon-El had directed her to absorb, she left the room with the intent of heading up to Gambit's quarters and talking with him about his reaction regarding the names mentioned at the briefing.

As she and the others left the room, Rogue seemed to stumble a little. She looked a little disoriented and a bit paler than usual. Suddenly she stopped in her tracks and held her hands to her temples, as if to massage away a headache.

As a sharp pain tore through her head she clenched her eyes shut and whimpered softly. Carol, who had been discussing her heritage with her sister and cousin nearby, noticed immediately. She excused herself and moved toward the young mutant.

"Rogue?" She asked tentatively. "Are you alright?"

Another pain wracked Rogue's brain and she cried out as she collapsed on the spot. Carol was quick enough to catch the younger girl before she hit the floor. Rogue's jade green eyes sprang open, reflecting great pain.

"Ohhhhh mah head!" She groaned. She held the sides of her head gingerly. Suddenly her eyes rolled back and she lay very quiet and still in Carol's arms.

Carol looked at Super Boy and Super Girl in alarm. Both Kryptonians looked panicky. They rushed the X-girl down to the infirmary and got her situated. Betsy hurried over to the young mutant and set her healing energies to work. No change seemed to occur, which quite unnerved the healer.

"I don't get it..." Betsy bit her lip. "I really don't know what's going on. My powers were working fine."

"I don't think it's you, Betsy." Super Girl said with a frown. She had just been scanning Rogue with her X-Ray Vision. Nothing was truly wrong, but something wasn't right. It was almost as though very finite changes were being made at the molecular level of the girl's body. "Perhaps her pain is not being caused by illness."

"What could be doing it then?"

"It looks as though her DNA is physically being rewritten." Super Girl frowned. "It's like she's turning into a Kryptonian right before our eyes."

The group stared at the girl who had reflexively curled up in the face of the excruciating transformation she was currently going through. Betsy frowned and placed a hand on the young mutant's shoulder. She procured a syringe and needle.

"I think this phenomena is going to need a bit of researching." She positioned the needle over Rogue's right arm. She tried injecting it and gaped as the needle shattered. "Okay, that was sooo not expected."

"It's just like I said, she's being rewritten with Kryptonian physiology." Super Girl said nervously. "You wouldn't be able to draw blood from Kal or I, or Kiral either I suppose. Our skin is impenetrable except by Kryptonite or in an environment under a red sun."

"Kara, do you think that this will be a permanent change for her?" Carol asked quietly.

"I don't know." Super Girl gulped. "I don't think that there's any record of this happening before."

" Do you think since she's got our physiology now she'll also retain our powers?" Carol needled further.  
"Well Saturn Girl mentioned something about her retaining all of her powers anyway, so I'd guess that is a highly likely possibility." Super Girl bit her lip.

"If that is the case we will have to help her become used to her new powers as we are doing with you and your heritage, Kiral." Super Boy assured her. "Rogue will have to become accustomed to her new abilities. I wonder if she will be able to keep her old ones as well."

Super girl continued scanning Rogue. After a while the changes stopped and Rogue seemed to be sleeping, although very fitfully.

Kal and Kara went to go alert the rest of the Legion and the X-men about Rogue's situation. Needless to say the group was very concerned and headed down to the infirmary to see her. When she awoke a short time later it was to find a rather mismatched group seated around a bed she didn't remember falling asleep in.

At the first sight of her jade eyes, the group around her visibly relaxed. Her friends looked vividly relieved.

"Oh thank goodness you're alright, you totally had us all worried." Kitty gushed. She glanced shrewdly to her side. "Like, some of us more than others."

Remy smiled weakly. "How y' feelin', chére?" He squeezed Rogue's hand gently and she realized he must have been holding her hand as they waited for her to wake up.

She smiled shakily in return at him. In truth she was very happy he wasn't sulking anymore. "Honestly, Ah feel like Ah got run ova by a train." She said hoarsely.

Super Girl came over to her side. "We need to talk, Rogue." She said. "Why do you think you fainted?"

Rogue shrugged. "Lackuva decent caffeine supply?"

Super Girl shook her head, mildly amused. "I really don't think your coffee intake has anything to do with this fainting spell. Have you ever fainted after absorbing somebody before?"

Rogue frowned and thought for a moment. "S'far's ma mem'ry goes only the time when Ah first met Carol on the track at the junior Olympics ((NOTE: IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS SOMEWHAT CONSTANT REFERENCE SHAME ON YOU FOR NOT READING UNTOLD STORY OF CAROL DANVERS))."

"That's not the only time." Lance piped up suddenly. "You did it when you were a baby too. Well deaged at least. You passed out in my arms shortly after you got fished out of the water after you touched Carol."

"Oh." Rogue nodded and looked confused. "Well other than that, it's never happened before."

Super Girl looked pensive for a moment. "Have you ever absorbed an alien other than my sister?"

Rogue frowned. "Only just now when Mon-El had me an' Scarlett hang back to absorb some extra firepower."

Super girl looked up in surprise. "Who did you absorb?"

"Wanda an' Element Lad. He's an alien, right?"

"Yes, he's Trommian, Rogue." Super Girl explained gently. "But I don't think Element Lad was the problem. Come to think of it, I noticed you looking a little pale before you hung back to speak with Mon-El."

"What's goin' on?" Rogue demanded, a tinge of panic entering her voice.

"Well Rogue, after you collapsed Super Girl noticed that your physiology was changing. We don't especially know why, but you were somehow altered at the genetic level. For all intents and purposes, you are essentially Kryptonian."

Rogue's jaw fell open a little but she recovered quickly. "So what, Ah kin leap tall buildin's in a single bound now or somethin?"

"Yes." Super Boy laughed. "That and much more. My cousin Kara and I would be happy to help you understand what this means. We are already teaching Carol and would not mind reviewing for you as well."

Rogue stared at them. "Ah don' mean ta be rude, really Ah'm grateful an' all but ta be blunt, what the heck made this happen? Ah mean, last Ah checked ma birth certificate Ah was definitely born on Earth. In Mississippi, for cryin' out loud!"

"Well that we don't really know." Super Boy frowned. "I've never heard of DNA physically changing before. At least not without a powerful outside stimulus."

Super Girl paused thoughtfully. "The only thing I can suggest is that your body is enduring an allergic reaction of sorts to your repeated absorbing of an alien life-form. Perhaps your body is embracing Kryptonian physiology to attempt to compensate for the strange cells that might have been captured as you absorbed Carol."

"Oh." Rogue blinked. "Ah'll take ya word for it then, shall Ah? So other than all that technobabble, what's this actually mean?"

Super Girl smiled. "Well, you'll be able to do the things Kryptonians can. Super-Speed, super-strength, supervisions like x-ray and heat vision, ice breath, invulnerability, and flight of course. Now, I don't know whether this a permanent transformation, but nonetheless-"

"Hey hold the phone!" Rogue interrupted. "Ya tellin' me Ah can...fly an' do all that other stuff now?"

"Yes Rogue." Super boy smiled.

"So Ah get all these cool powers? That doesn't seem like a bad reaction to me." She paused. "What's the catch?"

"Y' such a pessimist, chere." Remy joked.

"Maybe, but 'sma experience that somethin' that looks too good to be true, usually is."

"Well, yes." Super Girl nodded and continue from the point she'd been interrupted. " As I was saying, we don't know if this change is permanent, so we're going to need to be very cautious about the weaknesses you've acquired in your transformation."

"Ah knew it." Rogue sighed. "The universe wouldn' throw me a bone. Why should it, seein' as it's been laughin' my way since the day Ah was born."

"Remy's right, you totally are a pessimist." Kitty commented idly.

"Mebbe we sh'd let de fille finish tellin' what dese weaknesses are, non?" Remy silenced Kitty, anxious to find out how bad the situation really was now that he knew Rogue wasn't just being paranoid.

"Thank you." Super Girl smiled gratefully. "Well Rogue, you now have the weaknesses to Kryptonite and Magic-"

"That's it!" Rogue snorted. "Kryptonite and Magic! Ah was expectin' somethin' a little more...impressive."

"Rogue this is not a laughing matter!" Super Boy said seriously. "At least one of our foes in this battle has used Kryptonite against us." Seeing her blank look he elaborated. "Kryptonite is meteor rocks from the planet Krypton, before it blew up. Each variety effects a Kryptonian in various negative ways. Green is toxic. It weakens and poisons and could kill you if you are exposed to it for a prolonged period. Red is unpredictable but commonly it creates emotional and personality instability, which can lead to rash decisions or madness. Gold Kryptonite is a power stripper. It permanently removes a Kryptonian's abilities. In your case it might even remove the power's you've absorbed from others. In fact, the only Kryptonite you don't need to worry about is white, unless you're a plant."

"But the one to be most concerned about is the one most recently discovered." Super Girl stated. "Silver Kryptonite has the toxicity of Green K and the maddening properties of Red K all rolled into one. Only it causes a lot more pain, increased paranoia, and hallucinations. It essentially distorts reality and you don't always know when you are under it's influence."

"And magic is also a powerful weakness. Anything magical can and will hurt like nobody's business." Super Boy grimaced. "Mordru is a very skilled magical being and will not hesitate to hurt anybody who dares to defy him."

"We aren't telling you these things to scare you." Super Girl added. "It's just you need to know what's going on."

Rogue looked a little shaken. "Damn."

"It ain' dat bad, chere." Remy looked unnerved to but he tried to make a joke of it. "Y' avoid c'l'rful rocks an' don' get int' any disagreements wit' Harry Potter an' y' be fine, oui?"

Rogue sighed. "Ya don' sound so sure of that, Cajun. Ah'm beginnin' ta think ya crack more jokes when ya nervous."

"Shh." He smirked playfully. "Don' be givin' 'way Remy's fam'ly secrets now Chere."

Super Girl surveyed the group. Most of them looked pretty unnerved by this news, but Rogue looked extraordinarily overwhelmed. Carol was also looking a little paler at the mention of the weaknesses. She had just heard about them for the first time along with Rogue.

"I think it would be for the best if Super Boy and myself were left alone with Rogue and Carol." She said gently to the team. "There is still much to discuss with them." The X-men realized they had just been politely dismissed and most of them headed out after muttering their good-byes and wishing Rogue luck. Remy, who still had yet to release Rogue's hand sighed and kissed the back of her knuckles before rising.

"Y' be alright, Chere. Bon chance." He smiled, a genuine one not a smirk and left.

After the room vacated, Super Girl and Super Boy looked at their pupils. "It looks like we have some training to do, ladies." Super Boy said. "On the plus side, Kryptonian's don't need to sleep or relax as much as normal people."

"Yeah, I've noticed that." Carol commented.

"Kara, do you think we should take them to the Fortress?"

Super Girl thought for a moment. "I don't think that will be necessary. It is a nice evening outside and there are no threats nearby. I don't see why we couldn't go outside and do a touch of training there, so long as we told Mon-El where we are going."

A few moments later, the four young super beings made their way outside where Super Boy and Super Girl proceeded to give Ms. Marvel and Rogue a very compressed crash course in their new abilities.

Rond Vidar made his way to the lab he maintained at the Legion. He had fully recovered from his injuries, thanks to that Danvers girl, what was her first name. He realized that he had not caught her name.

_"No time to worry about that now,"_ he thought. He had been briefed by Mon-El as to the situation regarding Apocalypse's travels back into time. His mission was to try to seal the time travel lanes and the time stream itself to prevent the villain's return. While his duties as a darkstar often required him to monitor time traveling traffic, Rond had never attempted to shut down the time stream before.

_"Oh, well, there's always a first time something has to be done. It's not like this is my first dealing with the finicky enigma that is time," _he thought to himself. Upon reaching his time lab, he quickly began to make his calculations in order to seal the time stream. Suddenly, there was a knock at his door. Rond looked up to see Brainiac 5 and a stranger at his door.

"Do you mind if we assist you, Rond?" Brainiac 5 asked, politely as the two men entered the lab.

Rond watched as the newcomer looked around his time lab. "And who is your friend, Brainy?"

Brainiac 5 looked at the newcomer as well. "This is Forge. He is a friend of the X-men. His time-related experiments were brilliant and had it not been for a slight mishap he would have succeeded in sending twelve of his teammates fifteen years into their pasts. I thought that since he has such a keen interest in time travel and manipulation of the time steam, he might be able to help us with our mission."

As Forge looked around the room his eyes widened in wonder. _"Groovy!'_ he thought. Forge looked at the two Legionnaires. "What can I do to help?" He asked, enthusiastic about using the hi-tech equipment and adding his own two cents to the cause.

Rond Vidar looked at the young genius. "We are in the process of trying to prevent our time traveling foes from being able to re-enter the time stream. Would you have any theories on sealing the fabric of time itself?"

Meanwhile, in another wing, Lana and Pete Ross were discussing their roles for the upcoming battle. Lana looked at Pete. "Well," she said. "At least we are no longer stuck in the infirmary with the sick and wounded." Pete grinned at his wife.

"We should acquire more morphs for the battle, Lana," he said.

"Don't you think our regular Andalite battle morphs will be adequate, Pete? We do also have our Hork Bajir, Taxxon, and Howler morphs as well."

"As far as actual combat morphs, they are all pretty tough. However, I was actually thinking that we should acquire a couple of Legionnaires or X-Men. That is, if they would let us do so," Pete replied.

"Who did you have in mind, Super Boy and Super Girl?" Lana laughed at her own little joke.

"Those two would not be bad choices, but I was actually thinking about adding a little less firepower and a lot more stealth. I thought you should acquire the feisty Shadowcat and I would acquire Invisible Kid. Then we could turn invisible or phase through solid objects. Those skills would be pretty good ones to have in our repertoire. They also are well suited for the tasks at hand."

"Hmmmmm," Lana replied. "Not a bad idea. Not bad at all." Then with a laugh, she said "**LET'S DO IT!**"

"Lana, honey. Do you know you sounded just like Rachel used to when you said that?" Pete asked. "Marco used to call her Xena, remember?"

"Where do you think she learned her fearlessness, Pete? I taught her everything and even helped her confidence a bit," Lana boasted, smugly.

"That's funny," Pete laughed. "I could have sworn that the Elimist said that Rachel and Jake were the champions provided by the Earth itself and were already destined for greatness. We were the fortunate wild cards no one expected."

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Back in the twenty-first century, Apocalypse, Mr. Sinister and the two assassins, Magnum and Belladonna had just stepped into Apocalypse's time portal. Suddenly, a kaleidoscope of swirling colors surrounded them. Apocalypse and Sinister seemed to be unfazed by the change. Neither of them were strangers to time travel. Magnum and Belladonna, however, were not. Both of them grew wide-eyed as the colors surrounded them.

However, while Magnum simply looked a bit surprised by the swirling vortex of color and imagery rushing by, Bella looked more than a little ill. Her curly blond hair was whipping around her face and she looked a bit green, as though suffering from motion sickness.

Magnum glanced at her in concern. "What is wrong, my student?"

"Ah t'ink Ah'm gonna t'row up." The girl swallowed and looked queasy.

"Motion sickness." Magnum said matter-of-factly. "You will be fine if you master your body and take control of the reaction.

The young Assassin looked at her mentor as though she had suggested the impossible.

"Remove your mind from your physical self, Belladonna." Magnum said sternly. "An assassin must not be stirred by any physical stimulus. You must master this affliction, rather than let it dictate your actions."

Belladonna groaned and sucked in a deep breath, trying hard to stabilize her equilibrium.

"Do not give in to this weakness, girl." Magnum said harshly. "One is only so powerful as the greatest weakness he or she possesses."

The younger Assassin bit her lip and tried to steel herself.

"Perhaps I have misjudged you, Belladonna." Magnum said in a cold tone. "I was under the impression that you were above such disappointing weakness. Perhaps I would be better to waste no further effort on training you."

The girl flushed with embarrassment and stood as tall and straight as she could, as though trying to prove her worth. " 'M sorry, ma'am." She muttered. " 'Twon' happen again."

Apocalypse stepped between his two newest soldiers. "Ladies, please relax. There is no need for discord among our number. Save your hostility for the opponents who will be awaiting you when our destination is reached."

"You mention our opponents and this destination, yet I notice you've been very closed-mouthed about these details." Magnum said with a hint of a sneer.

Sinister glanced at the woman with interest. "My dear, Apocalypse is generally quite secretive until such time as he sees fit to divulge the vital information." To his former partner he spoke with amusement. "I see you have found new allies, Apocalypse. Though I am afraid I seem not to have caught either of these charming ladies' names."

"That would be because you were not offered our names." Magnum said coldly.

"Please pardon my ill manners. It is only natural that you should be wary of my curiousity as we have yet to be introduced." Sinister smiled tolerantly. "Some know me as Dr. Nathaniel Essex, a most accomplished scientist in the field of genetics. Though I do prefer to be called by my chosen name: Mr. Sinister. Might I inquire as to your names?"

"You might inquire as much as you wish." Magnum scoffed. "My given name is none of your concern. I am called Magnum and I am the most accomplished assassin for centuries."

"Really, my dear, there is no need for such hostility toward me. We are on the same side after all. I was merely curious." Sinister said in a most airy tone. "I do suppose it would be pressing my luck to inquire about the identity of your young companion." He said in a way that could be received as a statement or a question.

"This is my protégée, Belladonna Boudreaux." Magnum gestured toward the younger assassin. "She hails from the Louisiana Assassins Guild and may one day prove to be a force to reckon with, that is, if she can overcome the pathetic weaknesses she has thus-far displayed." This last comment was accompanied by a nasty glance to the younger woman.

Belladonna narrowed her eyes and muttered something akin to "Ah'm perfectly capable of intr'ducin' m'self, merci beaucoup."

"Boudreaux, did you say?" Sinister glanced at the young assassin with interest in his gaze. "Well imagine that." He chuckled.

The girl looked up immediately. "What?"

"I was just amused that I did not recognize you earlier, my dear."

"De Hell's dat mean?" Belladonna crossed her arms. "We ain' ev' met before."

"Oh of course we have never met in person, my dear." Sinister smiled, an eerie expression on his evil face. "But I did have the good fortune of working with somebody very close to you once."

"Mon pére?" Bella asked, surprised.

"No I cannot say I've ever had any business with Marius, far too obsessed with only his campaign against the Thieves' Guild to be of interest to me, I'm afraid." Belladonna clenched her fists and opened her mouth, likely in defense of her father, but Sinister continued. "But when one Remy Lebeau was a boy he carried your picture with him at all times. He spoke most highly of you."

The girl's eyes widened and then narrowed dangerously. "How'd y' know Remy?"

"Oh I know young Mr. Lebeau far more closely than most. I was his...doctor for a time. Indeed he was one of my favorite pet projects, and sadly my greatest failure." Sinister sighed. "But nonetheless he mentioned you several times. He was very fond of you-I'd daresay he considered you his closest friend."

The girl's blue eyes were practically radiating hatred. "We were more'n just friends. We were engaged. Me an' him were supposet' get married fo' de sake of de guilds. Least we were till the backstabbin' jerk went an' took off up North."

'_My my, the jilted fiancée is thirsty for vengeance." Sinister thought. "This shall indeed prove interesting.' _"My condolences, child." He nodded. "His departure was most inconvenient for me as well."

Sinister turned back to Apocalypse. "While her means of asking for information were most impolite, I am inclined to agree with Magnum. Where precisely is our destination? And what foe awaits us there?"

"We are currently en route to the thirtieth century." Apocalypse said calmly.

"Why that time period?" Sinister asked curiously. "Is it a period that will be easily dominated? Are the opponents you speak of particularly easy to overcome?"

A dark look crossed Apocalypse' s face. "No. A group of meta human teenagers called the Legion of Superheroes are banding against my efforts. They have been joined by several mutants from the twenty-first century. As you well know I have a personal agenda against the members of the X-men."

Sinister looked taken aback. "You wish to take on the X-men and this Legion at the same time? Apocalypse, that sounds like it will be very hard."

Apocalypse smirked. "Ah Sinister, you underestimate me. I have joined forces with those who will easily be able to assist in smiting the opposition."

Mr. Sinister smiled a sinister smile. "Ah of course. Tell me my old friend, are these allies members of Homo Superior themselves, perhaps?"

Apocalypse shook his head. "No, I am afraid not, Nathaniel. One calls himself the Time Trapper. He has the ability to actually manipulate and control the passage of time. He has an assistant named Universo, whom I do not trust for an instant. The other is called Mordru. Mordru is a vicious sorcerer. I like him less than Universo. However, he is extremely powerful and his abilities are useful to me. After we have conquered the universe, I shall get rid of all of them after draining all their energies and powers, of course. Now you know why I need you, Essex. You, I trust. And you will be able to assist me with my campaign."

Mr. Sinister looked at his old colleague. _"Perhaps my old friend has over reached himself,"_ Sinister thought. _"I have heard of this Mordru before. He has conquered entire galaxies in his time. From what I know, he is extremely unlikable and uncontrollable, not to mention darn near omnipotent as a sorcerer. Why would Apocalypse work with him? For that matter, Why would Mordru align himself with Apocalypse. This situation bears watching."_

Shielding his thoughts so that they would not be 'heard" by his old friend, Mr. Sinister asked a question he was rather very curious to have answered. "Is there any incentive for me in this deal?"

Apocalypse grinned again. "I do believe there is, Essex. You have longed for fresh genetic samples to work with for ages. I will grant you access to all the DNA you can dream of for your tinkering. Though I felt a few specific members of the X-men would catch your attention most efficiently. For you see, three of your favorites are all conveniently to be located in this period of time: Scott Summers, Jean Grey, and of course, young Remy Lebeau."

Belladonna growled. "Y' can screw around wit' his DNA all y' wish m'sieu, but just y' be sure y' wait till Ah git t'rough wit' de lousy cheatin' scumball."

Sinister glanced at the young assassin and nodded, acknowledging her claim. "You may do what you wish with the original. I can always produce an enhanced copy, after all."

Belladonna looked at the evil mutant with a mix of emotions playing behind her eyes. She seemed to radiate loathing, though whether for her ex-fiance or Sinister, it was hard to tell. She seemed a bit disturbed by the idea of this man cloning her ex for reasons she could not really define. But on the other hand she still seemed quite eager to please her superiors.

Suddenly, the colors in the time stream began to fluctuate wildly. Apocalypse noticed the change and acted unconcerned. Privately, however, he wondered what was going on. _"Could someone be tampering with the time stream in some way?" _He thought.

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Back in the thirty-first century, Rond Vidar, Forge, and Brainiac 5 were busily trying different calculations to seal the time stream. Rapidly, three sets of hands were flying over computer terminals, each trying out different combinations to attempt to close the fabric of time. Finally, after several agonizing hours, Rond Vidar found the right combination. "I think we have it," he announced to the weary group. "Unfortunately, this solution is hardly permanent and will only be effective for an hour at most."

"Hopefully," Brainiac 5 replied, "That will be sufficient. An hour may give us enough of an advantage to subdue most of the villains, leaving only Apocalypse and his new untrained horsemen."

"The great unknown factor is the Time Trapper." Rond said. "The Legion has no real idea how his powers work. We do know that he is able to control the passage of time and therefore he may be able to forcibly keep the time stream open."

"Then we should test it now, Rond," Brainiac 5 said. "Or will we be able to do this only once?"

Rond Vidar smiled a weary smile. "I do not know whether the opportunity will present itself more than once. I believe that we need to keep the element of surprise here and attempt this just before dawn. There is possibly a great risk of failure or catastrophic results to the space time continuum.

"Time will tell," said Forge. "Now the battle is upon us and we should all get some sleep. I have the feeling that all of us will be needed in the morning."

"Good idea, Forge," replied Braniac 5. "Let us get to our quarters then and get some rest. Both of them bade Rond a goodnight and left the room as he shut down the equipment he was using. When he finished shutting down, unbeknownst to Rond, the time stream quit fluctuating.

When the time stream returned to its normal operation, Apocalypse and his new recruits finished their journey and stepped through the portal back into the thirty-first century base of Apocalypse.

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The next morning dawned bright and clear. The Legionnaires all assembled and collected two power nullifiers each from the weapons room of Legion headquarters. After a few moments of last minute instructions from Mon-El, each group set off on its assigned tasks.

Mystique and Magneto moved to join their respective groups, Mystique with the espionage squad, Magneto with the group who was to shut down the power to the base. Mon-El watched intently as the two ex-terrorists moved into their respective groups. Silently, he hoped that he had made the right decisions concerning the two older heroes. Magneto, in particular, looked to be old and vulnerable. Mystique also worried him but for a different reason. She had always been a trained assassin and would not hesitate to kill. This could be problematic with the legion code against killing except in cases of extreme self-defense. He noticed that she wore two gleaming adamantium guns on her hips. _"Her battle gear, perhaps?" _He thought sadly, shaking his head.

He walked over to them and held out his hands. "I wish you both the best in this battle," Mon-El said. In each hand he held a Legion Flight ring. "Raise your right hands and repeat after me, "I pledge always to use my super-powers only for the good of all people, and never for selfish purposes or expecting financial reward, and to do my best to aid fellow Legionnaires who are in peril"."

Magneto and Mystique repeated the oath. When they had finished, Mon-El said: "Congratulations, by taking that oath, you are now accorded the status of temporary Legionnaires. In this manner, you will have all of the rights and privileges of any other Legionnaire, including the power of arrest. I urge you not to take these rights and responsibilities lightly."

When he had finished, he handed the flight rings to them and each put one on. "These rings allow you the power to fly and enable you to communicate telepathically with the rest of us. They also identify you as duly deputized members of the science police."

"This is likely one of the more ironic moments of my life." Mystique mused.

Magneto chuckled. "Indeed, my dear. Who would have ever thought the world would see you. or myself for that matter, sworn into an honorary law enforcement position?"

"We thank you for your trust in us." Mystique said to Mon-El. "There are not many who would give us the chance to prove ourselves after learning of our history."

Once the impromptu ceremony had been completed, all of the legionnaires took off in flight. A few moments later, they spotted the villains' base. It was surrounded by an eerie force field of some unknown origin. Magneto and Cosmic Boy stepped to the front of the group. Light Lass, Lightning Lad, Element Lad and Wildfire soon joined them. Each of them individually tried using their powers to shut down the field. Each of them failed. Nothing seemed to be able to penetrate the field.

After a few minutes, Rogue stepped forward. "Maybe it would work if y'all combined yo' pow'rs." She suggested.

The group all looked at one another. Each of them started using their powers all at once. The barrier seemed to shimmer but still held. Finally, they stopped blasting at the barrier. Phantom Girl walked up to the barrier. "Maybe I can go through the barrier in my phantom form," she said aloud. "Once inside, I could find some way to turn it off." She was about to attempt to go through when Shadow Cat stopped her.

"No, Phantom Girl! That won't work. He knows how to keep phasers out. I like, tried to get through one of his barriers once and all I like, got in return, was a whole lot of pain."

Just then, Super Girl and Ms. Marvel came flying towards the force field at super speed. Both of them crashed into the barrier and were repelled. Both of them landed in a heap, holding their heads.

"Ow...that wasn't my best idea ever...," said Ms. Marvel.

Finally, Saturn Girl walked up to the group. After studying the barrier for a few seconds, she turned to Rogue. "Rogue you have the ability to remove this barrier."

Rogue looked at her quizzically. "Huh?"

Saturn Girl looked at the young Goth. "Do you remember when I was inside your head? I organized all of your powers and personalities. I also removed the restriction that only allowed you to use a specific ability for a limited time immediately after acquiring it. Do you remember the power you absorbed from the little boy Damien Leech? The one that allowed you to shut down Apocalypse before? Concentrate on that power now. You can use it to shut down this barrier, Rogue."

Rogue smiled. "Oh, right. Ah f'rgot bout that."

Rogue closed her eyes and concentrated on the Leech's power. Suddenly, the barrier's energy faded as it was turned off. All of the Legionnaires took their attack positions. The espionage squad moved into the first ship. There was only one occupant, Crystal Amaquelin-Maximoff-Summers She was currently strapped in her recharging pod. Her power nullifier was still intact and she looked less than pleased to see them.

"Looks like she is already gift-wrapped for us" joked Mystique.

As she was already defenseless the group ignored her presence and quickly searched the rest of the ship. Finding nothing of interest, they disconnected the power coupling so that the ship's energy could not be used in conjunction with the other ships to keep Apocalypse's web operating.

At the second ship, Colossus and Gambit joined them. Carefully they made their way into the second ship. Apocalypse appeared to be in his resting chamber. The super mutant did not see the Legionnaires, partially because he was resting in said chamber and partially because they moved under the cover of darkness provided by Shadow Lass.

After they moved past Apocalypse, Shadow Lass dropped her shadow cover. The group was quickly on the move, but as soon as the darkness dissipated the group found themselves in front of two angry women. The older looked like somebody who had seen much in her lifetime. She had hard eyes and was training two very large lethal looking weapons at the group. The younger was very pretty, with curly blond hair and big blue eyes. She was slender and dressed in a pink sundress and heels. At first glance she didn't look like any more threat than any other teenaged blond you'd find at the shoe store in the mall on a Saturday afternoon. However, at second glance, an observer would not be able to miss the fiery hatred in her eyes...or the very nasty looking large gun she was aiming in a very casual way at the group of X-men and Legionnaires before her.

Remy paled visibly and gulped nervously the second his strange eyes fell on her.

"Dieu...mon Dieu..." He stammered.

"Whatsa matta Remy? Di'n' y' miss m', cher?" Her voice was saccharine-sweet but she was glaring daggers.

He was speechless. The card he'd been poised to throw had long since uncharged. His jaw was set in a sort of horrified 'o'.

"Ain'cha got an't'in' t' say t' m', Remy?" She spat. "O'd y' fo'get yo' manners livin' up in Yankee country?"

"Belle..." Remy started, feeling suddenly very acutely aware of the silence surrounding the reunion.

"Don'chu Belle me, y' dirty, cheatin' rat!" Belladonna sneered. "S' been over t'ree years, Remy. T'ree years since y' took off an' lef' me behind! Y' broke m' heart dat day. An now yo' gonna pay, Remy! Yo' gonna pay in blood! Yo' blood an' de blood've all yo' friends an' family!"

She smirked and took aim with her gun. Remy knew she was deadly accurate and he winced as he waited for the rush of death to follow the loud noise. He peeked his eyes open and saw Rogue standing in front of him. He stared at her back incredulously, momentarily forgetting her new invulnerability. He was astounded; she'd just taken a bullet for him...a bullet that would have likely ripped a whole the size of a baseball through his back.

It was only the fact that she looked mildly amazed as she held the bullet-which had only put a clean hole in her uniform before bouncing harmlessly off of her chest- in her hand that snapped Remy to reality. She wasn't hurt, she was alright...He felt himself sigh with relief.

"Now that was jus' rude." Rogue said calmly. "Ah liked this uniform!" She frowned. "An' Ah don' much like ya pointin' guns at ma teammates, Sugah."

"Yo' teammate done somethin' Ah don' much expect a nasty li'l river rat like y' t' understand!" Bella sneered at the younger girl.

"Riv' rat, huh, shoot, Ah guess Ah shoulda expected that from a swamp witch like ya'self." Rogue said irritably. "Ah don' know what bug crawled in yo' boots an' died but where Ah come from, we believe in gun control!" She lunged to grab the assassin's weapon and was more than a little surprised when her hands closed on the empty air.

"Quelle coincidence, chere, m' famille b'lieves in dat too. Dough Ah highly doubt we be t'inkin' o' de same meanin've de term." With a sneer the blond pulled another weapon from the holster on her waist. "In ma famille, dat means bein' able t' control a gun in bot' hands."

Rogue eyed the second weapon. It didn't look like any gun she'd ever seen before. In fact it looked almost like somebody like Forge had taken it upon themselves to modify one of the deadly particle disrupter weapons she'd seen some of the villains using. An unimproved disruptor could be fatal to Rogue, even with her Kryponian physiology. God only knew what this version would do.

Belladonna caught her looking and grinned. It was a freakish, predatory expression that did not fit the girls pretty face. "Y' like? Ah know yo' f'm'lliar wit' de standard model. Y' seen what it can do, haven't y'? Y' might be bullet proof, but Ah'm willin' t' bet this'll take y' down in a heartbeat."

She took aim again.

"WOAH! Wait just one minute!" Mon-El said sternly. "Put the weapon down, madam. You are under arrest by the Science Police and the Legion of Super Heroes. The charges are trespassing, traveling through time in an illegal manner, assault of a recognized honorary Legionnaire, and possession of multiple illegal firearms. If you surrender calmly we will-"

"Oh would y' just shut up!" Bella spat and threw a kick at the Legionnaire. He was thrown backwards slightly but he hardly seemed phased. She looked livid and pulled the trigger on her particle disrupter without warning.

A clean hole burned completely through Mon-El's chest. He had just enough time to look surprised before the shock of the blow caused him to crumple and fall. Kurt caught him before he hit the ground and teleported him to safety, presumably the base.

"Lady, you picked the wrong team to mess with." Cyclops said, his visor flashing.

"Ah don' wanna mess wit' yo' "team"." The assassin sneered. "Dis be between me an' LeBeau. Y' stay outta it!"

"Newsflash blondie, ya mess with onea the X-men, ya mess with alluv us." Rogue snarled. Belladonna growled.

"Remy was mahne befo' he was ona yo' precious X-men, River Rat."

"That name callin' ain' really necessary ya know, hon." Rogue sighed. "An' Remy ain't yo' property!"

A look of fury crossed Belladonna's face. She pulled the trigger in Rogue's direction.

"Rogue, git down!" Remy threw her out of the range of the blaster.

"Who is she!" The assassin screeched at Remy. "Dis li'l hussy de one y' been all ove' since y' left?"

"Excuse me?" Rogue blinked incredulously. "What makes ya think ya got any right-"

"Well, de way Ah see it, Ah got every right in de worl', li'l girl."  
"Well Ah don' quite see how." Rogue scowled. "And who ya callin' li'l girl! Ah'll eat ma boots if ya've even cleared twen'y."

Belladonna curled her lip disdainfully. "Ah'm amazed Remy. Y' never seemed like de type t' be int' fiesty River Rats."

"Hold y' tongue, Belle." Remy snapped. His voice was at a fever pitch. "Leave 'er outta dis! She don' know anythin'!"

"Anythin' bout what?" Rogue's voice shook slightly.

"Well well well." A cold grin appeared on the blond's features. "Y' should know dat y' been lied t'."

"Whaddya mean?"

"Did he tell y' he loved y'? Say y' were de mos' special femme ever, dat he ain' eve' felt dis way bout anot'er woman?" Bella looked smug.

"Don' y' listen t' her Rogue!" Remy called to her, anguish in his voice. "Leave her 'lone Belladonna!"

"He say dat t' all de pretty li'l ladies he meet." Bella continued as if she hadn't heard Remy's plea. "He tell dem dat he change fo' dem, dat he do anyt'in' fo' dem. Den he fo'git dey name in de mornin' afte' he write it in his li'l black book an carves anot'er notch on his bedpost."

Rogue bit her lip and narrowed her eyes. "Ah don' know what ya talkin' 'bout." She lunged, grabbing for the guns again.

"Remy been wit' lots of women, chere, but he on'y love me." The blond held her head high. "No matta what he tell y'."

Rogue lost her temper and launched herself at the blond assassin with a growl very reminiscent of Wolverine. She threw a punch that connected with Belladonna's head and was accompanied by the sickening crunch of the girl's jaw shattering. The assassin cried out and fell unconscious as Rogue's absorbing skin activated.

"W-Who is she Remy?" She said weakly as she fought the surging wave of memories. She had to hear it from him first. She had to-

Remy hung his head. "Her name be Belladonna Boudreaux...She's...m'...fiancée." He admitted reluctantly.

Most of the team had engaged Magnum or joined the rest of the battle which started at Belladonna's first gunshot. But those who had remained behind as backup for Rogue and Remy looked shocked. Jean put a hand to her mouth and Scott's face was set in a thin line of disgust. Everyone was silent, holding their breath in anticipation of the explosion likely to happen.

None of that phased Remy, he was impervious to it. He was only focused on the expression on the young goth's face. She looked vaguely like he'd up and struck her with a club. Guilt nearly drowned him as uncontrolled tears welled in Rogue's stormy green eyes.

"Fiancée?" Her voice was quiet and shaky. She suddenly lost the battle and the tide of Belladonna's psyche washed over her. She closed her eyes but it could not block the images. She only saw bits and flashes because she was hardly focused on learning the content of these memories, but she saw enough. She saw feverish kisses and a younger but still handsome Remy and the glittery gold band with an impressive diamond placed on that significant finger through the blue eyes of the girl she'd just absorbed.

"Chere, let m' expl-"

"Ya don' need ta explain anythin' Gambit." Her tone was cold but her tears belied her sorrow. "Ah got her mem'ries...Ah seen enough..."

He stepped forward tentatively reaching for her. "Chere, y' gotta hear me out." He said, trying to soothe her with his empathic charm ability.

"Don' call me that!" She spat. Her eyes blazed. "Ah don' wanna hear ANYTHIN' ya have ta say!"

"Rogue, please..." He said in a hurt voice. "Y' don' know de whole story! Y' only got her side!" He looked desperately at her. "Y' don' understand!"

"What's there ta understand?" She said tonelessly. "Ya put a shiny gold ring on that gal's finger an' 's far's Ah know there's only one reason fo' that. An' that reason is ya meant ta marry her!"

"Well...oui mais...i's complicated." He ran his hand through his hair. "We was supposed t' git hitched t' unify our families. Wasn' anyt'in' more'n a business deal 'tween our péres!"

"That's not what her mem'ries show." Rogue said coldly. "The twoa y'all looked pretty passionate from what Ah could see. Y' didn't seem t' mind it none either."

Remy had the good grace to look properly embarrassed. "Ah was f'teen ye's old, Rogue. Ah did stupid t'in's, just like every ot'er teenager in de worl'." He sighed irritably. "One time me an' her got caught messin' around an' dat's when SHE suggested our pa'nts go ahead wit arrangin' de marriage dey wan'ed since de day m' pére 'dopted m'." He swallowed hard. "Was supposedt' stop de fightin' 'tween our fam'lies et all dat crap. It was an arranged marriage. Ah didn' want t'-"

"Save it fo' somebody who cares." Rogue spat. "In case ya didn' notice, we're kinda in the middle of somethin' here. We don' have the time ta chitchat, Gambit." He winced at the acidy tone in her voice and noted the use of his codename.

"But chére, Ah don' love her! Ah-"

"Call me that one mo' time an' even that healer back at the base won't be able ta put the pieces back t'getha." She kicked off and flew straight into the air. "Nothin' ya have ta say is worth mah time. Ah'm gonna go help out the othas."With that she took off.

"-love y'..." Remy finished, too late. He hung his head, shame and guilt and a powerful ache ripping at his heart. He couldn't bear looking at the group he knew was watching him in horrified awe.

Kurt teleported back. "Betsy is taking care of Mon-El. She assures me he vill be fine. The blow vas not even fatal." He raised an eyebrow. "Woah...I could cut ze tension here wiz a knife. Vat did I miss? And...hey vait a moment, vhere is Rogue?"

"The creep with the fiancée can explain it better." Cyclops stared at Gambit with an accusatory glance. He said nothing further however, which was likely because Jean was silently telling him off. "In the mean time, take this prisoner back to base. Get Betsy to look her over and then detain her. I don't believe she would have been brought here if she didn't have some power so put her in a power inhibitor too. Then get back into the fight ASAP. Got it?"

"Right." Kurt nodded gravely before glaring at Gambit. 'Fiancée?' He mouthed angrily before teleporting away, holding Belladonna's limp body in his arms.

The group hurried on to join the others in battle with foes more dangerous than a pretty blond teenager. None had any words of support for Remy and he was perfectly fine with that. He had hidden that secret from the X-men and it was a big thing. Also, he'd managed to hurt Rogue in a way nobody had yet managed and that was an unforgivable offense. Even Kitty, who he'd never had any argument with, scowled and crossed her arms as she passed him, looking as though she'd like nothing more than haul off and deck him.

As Rogue flew away she choked on a sob and furiously wiped away the tears she loathed so much. 'How could Ah be so stupid?' She asked herself. Her lips trembled. "C'mon gal, pull yo'self tagether." She told herself. Her heart ached terribly; she'd never hurt this badly before, and she hated the empty weak feeling she was left with.

She hovered in midair, knowing she was useless to everyone in her currant mental state. She took a deep breath and Bella's memories flooded her senses again. She was seeing the things as the blond girl had, feeling what she had felt.

_She was four and sitting on the edge of Mr. Lebeau's desk. Her daddy was talking to Mr. Lebeau. He was using his 'angry' voice. She knew that was because he hated the Lebeaus. She was idly swinging her legs, bored half to tears but her father had told her to behave so she was going to. She wasn't paying attention to what the two grown ups were saying but she kept hearing them say things about a little boy, Mr. Lebeau's new son Remy, something called a marriage pact, and a whole bunch of other meaningless stuff. _

_Her big brother growled and stepped closer to Mr. Lebeau._

_"Julian, calm yourself." Her father said coolly. Bella grinned up at her brother and reached her arms up. He rolled his eyes and gingerly picked her up. She nestled close to him and closed her eyes happily. _

_After a while there was a bloodcurdling scream and Mr. Lebeau groaned and ran outside mumbling. Daddy scooped her from her brother's arms and swung her onto his shoulders. They followed Mr. Lebeau to the grounds._

_When they got outside she saw the little boy who was screaming hitting an alligator with a metal stick as he tried to pull his arm away from the lizard's teeth. Mr. Lebeau hit the beast and it released the boy. The little boy's arm was bleeding all over him but he didn't cry. _

_They brought him inside and his tantie Mattie fixed him up and shouted at Mr. Lebeau and her Daddy. Then her Daddy decided to leave and the little boy laughed and showed that he had stolen Daddy's keys. For the first time she got a really good look at him and stared, mesmerized and horrified by his strange eyes._

_FLASH She was ten and her daddy was going to finally start training her as an assassin. She had been dreaming about this moment since she could pronounce the word assassin. She had been taking dance, gymnastics, and various martial arts since she could walk and now she got to start working with weapons._

_FLASH She was thirteen and sitting on the bank of the Mississippi River watching the sunset with Remy. He was wearing dark glasses because his eyes made him self conscious. She studied him for a moment. Despite his eyes, he was adorable. He had a great smile, even though he had another few months to go with his braces. He had dimples on his cheeks and a few stray freckles on his nose, but the look worked for him. He was the kind of boy all the girls liked, even the older ones. Heck he even gave Leonardo DiCaprio and Justin Timberlake a run for their money on the cute scale. _

_With a small smirk, she pounced and pinned him to the ground. She leaned over kissed him flush on the lips. He tensed up, very surprised for a moment, before returning the kiss. She could tell by the shy way he responded that he was uncertain...it was his first kiss. She smiled against his lips. He was hers now._

_FLASH She was nearly sixteen and was standing in Remy's father's study wearing only a guilty look and a bathrobe. Mr. Lebeau was yelling himself hoarse about how stupid she and Remy had been, how her family wanted blood, how their inability to control their hormones was going to cost him the best thief he'd ever trained up. She went upstairs to Remy's room and put on the spare clothes she had long ago stashed there in case of such an emergency arising. After she returned and assured Mr. Lebeau she was not having a baby, she brought up the marriage pact. Remy seemed startled by the suggestion but Mr. Lebeau thought it was a good idea and called her father, letting her handle the talking._

_"Bonsoir pére!" She cooed._

_"Bella? Dat y' mon chou?" She sighed in relief, he hadn't been told yet. _

_"Oui pére, c'est moi." She laughed and worked her magic and used the right amount of charm to get her father to agree with the idea that had been proposed years ago. _

_"Guess what Remy!" She squealed. "We gettin' married!"_

_FLASH Remy was kneeling before her, an unreadable expression in his eyes._

_"Remy know we already gettin' married, but he t'ought y' migh' like de prop'r accessory anyway?" He half asked as he opened the ring box, flashing a nice gold ring with a magnificent diamond._

_"Oh Remy yo' de greatest!" She cooed and tackled him, kissing him fiercely as he hit the ground._

_FLASH She was standing in front of a full length mirror admiring the expensive white gown she was wearing. Her bridesmaids were fawning over how gorgeous she looked and they kept adjusting her veil and the bouquet of flowers she held in her hands._

_"Dis is de happiest day of m' life." She decided aloud._

_Her father came into the room looking teary eyed._

_"Ma fille, ma belle fille." He touched her arm. "Y' look wonderful, mon petit chou."_

_"Merci, pére." She smiled._

_"C'mon Bella, dey's a weddin' out dere dat's waitin' fo' de show t' start." And with that the music started and before she knew it her father had taken her arm and was escorting her down the church aisle._

_She had tears of joy in her eyes and a smile on her face. Her husband-to-be waited for her at the end of the aisle. He was wearing the fanciest tux money could buy and designer sunglasses to cover his eyes._

_The priest did his bit and Belladonna said her "I do's" eagerly. Then it was Remy's turn and he stuttered-most likely out of nerves. He was halfway through his second attempt when he broke off, staring in horror at the hand he was clutching the rings in._

_All of a sudden the rings were glowing, a strange pinkish-orange. Remy dropped them quickly and it was a good thing he did, as the moment they hit the floor they exploded. That was all it took to create mass chaos. Everyone was screaming and running for the exits. She rolled her eyes and rushed toward Remy. She saw him stumble against a pillar and then the same pink-orange glow crept from his hand and then the church was coming down. _

_She shrieked and managed to make it out before the building completely collapsed. She called out for Remy, hoping he was alright_. _She looked for him futilely, and wondered if he'd even made it to safety. Suddenly she saw something in the distance._

_Her heart sank as she realized it was Remy, running away as fast as could. She tried to follow but the heavy skirts of the dress along with the heels she was wearing made it impossible. She called out to him to wait, to stop, but he didn't hear. He was running blindly, fueled by fear and adrenaline._

_She fell to her knees in sorrow, not even caring that she was getting dirt and grass stains on her beautiful wedding gown. She buried her face in her hands, sobbing in distress. Suddenly there was a great terrible burning in her mind. She closed her eyes and cried out in agony and then she was hearing Remy's thoughts as he fled. She heard his panic and felt his horror and confusion. She cried for him to come back, but he could not hear her. She whispered her goodbye before his mind threw her out and she was left crying in her disgraced heap for quite a while._

Rogue violently forced the memories away and rubbed away her own tears. She was a bit shocked by the barrage and a little disoriented. But she also had discovered several valuable and surprising bits of information. Belladonna was a mutant, a low-level psion to be sure, but a mutant nonetheless. And an assassin to boot. She hoped her brother had enough sense to get a power inhibitor on the blond. She shook herself out of her daze and quickly moved to rejoin the battle, promising her heart she'd deal with the complications with Remy and his...fiancée later.

While all of this had been going on, several X-men and Legionnaires had engaged Magnum in combat. She was putting up quite a fierce fight. Several young heroes had been rushed back to the base with bullet wounds in locations that would likely be lethal if they weren't dealt with immediately.

She was like nothing either team of super-heroes had ever faced. She was a deadly shot as well as a powerful hand-to-hand fighter. Suddenly she froze and her face twisted with fury. She noticed that Mystique had been creeping closer. And though she hated the blue woman very much, it was the twin guns on Mystique's holster that held her attention.

"You wretched thief!" She howled. "THOSE ARE MINE!"

Mystique looked at the guns and quirked an eyebrow. "Oh. So they are." She smirked. "Or rather, they used to be."

Magnum growled and whipped another weapon out and pointed it between her enemy's eyes.

"I am warning you. Give me back what is rightfully mine and I may kill you quickly and painlessly."

Mystique gave a small, cold smile. "You know, I don't think I will."

Magnum set her jaw. "You are a disgrace, Mystique." Her voice was cold.

Colossus looked at the assassin and suddenly recognized her. "Cousin Olivia?" He said, half to himself and half uncertainly.

She did indeed look very much like a cousin of his mother's. He hadn't seen the woman in years-he had only been ten the last time he had seen her, but he was willing to bet his X-gene that this was her. His mother had never been especially close with her cousins and Olivia was the most distant of all of them. She was very mysterious and full of hatred. Piotr could remember that much about her. Little Ilyana had been terrified of the powerful woman from the first time she saw her and that never changed.

"Do you know nothing of Assassin tradition!" Magnum snarled at Mystique, completely ignoring Colossus. "An Assassin is entitled to a foe's weaponry only if they strike said foe down and kill them! I am not dead, yet you display MY guns on YOUR belt as though I were! Your actions are dishonorable and disrespectful! Give me my weapons!"

"I see no reason why I should." Mystique said calmly. "They're quite nice and I do rather like them."

"Have you no sense of honor?" Magnum cried at her adversary. "I am disgusted by your thieving ways, murderess! You do not deserve to be alive!" When she had finished her rant, Magnum pulled the trigger on her gun. As she did so, Colossus stepped in front of Mystique and quickly allowed plates of organic metal to cover him. The bullet bounced harmlessly off of his armored body.

"You are wrong, cousin Olivia. It is you who is without honor. You have joined forces with a bunch of madmen on an absurd crusade to reign over all the universe. And you take life without a second thought. I do not understand why you do these things. Is it perhaps a love of the infamy it brings you? Do you maybe enjoy having the power to take something so precious as a human life? Or is it a love of material prizes such as wealth or even a pair of fancy weapons?" He sighed. "You have stained your good family name with your actions. My mother will be heartbroken, and we will likely have to disown you from our family to protect ourselves from the negative backlash of your reputation."

Magnum was livid. The boy was protecting her foe, as though he had no idea of the evils she had committed. He was speaking so calmly despite the fact that a war was waging. It did not seem natural. Also, she could see that firing on him would be nothing more than a waste of time and bullets. He was clearly very nearly invulnerable and probably pretty hard to hurt.

She stared at him menacingly, trying to unnerve him. Eventually she recognized him as her cousin Alexandra's youngest son, Piotr. She wondered vaguely how he came to be in the thirtieth century but decided it was not terribly important. What mattered was that he was interfering with her recovering her property as well as her plans of vengeance.

Tossing the gun aside, the master of C. Q. C. pulled a knife and a small derringer from her boots and moved toward Colossus and Mystique.

"I am rather annoyed with you mutants continuing to plague me! You continually ruin my plans of well deserved vengeance and you seem to think that because you can do things others can't, you are superior! I for one am sick and tired of mutant superiority!"

As she screamed out in Russian, she moved to attack Colossus. He had continued to stand between her and Mystique. Slowly, Colossus changed to his non-metal form. As he did so, Magnum in her rage slashed at his throat and missed by inches. Piotr continued talking in a calm voice.

"Please stop this cousin Olivia. It is me, Piotr Rasputin. Your cousin Alexandra's son." She lunged at him again and he calmly grabbed hold of her wrists and held her easily. She could not break his grip or use her weapons. She growled and attempted to kick him but it did not even affect the mutant as he quickly allowed himself to be coated in metal again. "You cannot hurt me, cousin Olivia. I would greatly appreciate it if you would kindly stop attempting it." He said tolerantly.

She swore violently at him and attempted to twist free. Piotr merely tightened his grip slightly.

Suddenly, a green bolt of light flashed by the combatants.

"Unhand her, immediately," bellowed Mordru. "You mutants are all alike. Always sticking your nose where it does not belong." When Colossus did not immediately release Magnum, Mordru, hurled another magical bolt at them. To his surprise, the bolt was being redirected towards him. As the bolt hit him, Mordru bellowed in rage.

**"WHO DARES TO ATTACK THE GREAT MORDRU? SHOW YOURSELF, INSECT. SO THAT I MAY PROPERLY DESTROY YOU!"**

At that moment, two young mutants came into his line of sight. One was a girl, dressed in a scarlet jumpsuit and matching trench-coat. The other was a young man wearing orange from the tips of his spiked hair to the bottoms of his boots.

"Watch whatcha say 'bout mutants, Mr. tall, dark and ugly. Ye might just offend the wrong one, mate!" Pyro smirked. He clenched his fists and the gloves of his uniform triggered the gas pack attached to his back and soon there were two swirling vortex's flame erupted from his hands. "And since ye asked so nice, moy name is Pyro!"

"And I am the Scarlet Witch, Mordru!" Wanda called, with narrowed eyes. Then unexpectedly she smiled. "The first." She and Scarlett had been bonding. The thirtieth century Scarlett witch was a very sweet and enthusiastic girl, and her childhood hero was in fact Wanda her self. Though Wanda would likely never admit it, even under pain of death and torture, she liked the kid. Enough to possibly consider changing her opinion about having kids in the first place.

Wanda turned her attention back to the great Sorcerer. "Don't you forget our names, because we're here to take you down!" Her eyes flashed as blue as the eerie glow around her hands.

Mordru looked at the two young insolent mutants. "Do not make me laugh! Mutant children stand no chance against Mordru, the greatest sorcerer that ever was!"

"Sorry, mate, but Oy'd personally say Albus Dumbledore is the greatest sorcerer that ever lived!" Pyro laughed.

"You dare mock me?" Mordru bellowed. "I have never heard of this Dumbledore, but should I meet him I will crush him as I am going to crush you now, insolent Mutant scum!"

With that he hurled two very large and very magical balls of flame at the two youths.

"Aw thank ya, mate!" Pyro grinned, catching one in each hand. "Look, luv, the bloke got me a present! Too bad Oy don' have anythin' to return the fava!" He smirked. "Then Oy guess Oy can't accept these then." He hurtled the flames back at Mordru and he bellowed in pain when they hit him, aided by a stinging hex from Wanda.

The sorcerer angrilly threw a bolt of straight magic at each of the x-men. This time Wanda grabbed the energy. She laughed, it was a pretty and almost musical sound.

"You're not the only one who deals with sorcery!" With that she flicked one of the energy balls back at Mordru and tossed one of them into the air with a blue hand and it spun off to Apocalypse's control panel and severed the electrical connections to the ship and the power grid.

"Oh yes, I do love Chaos Magic." She grinned and blew the tips of her index fingers as if they were a smoking gun.

The sounds of the battle woke up Apocalypse. He stepped from his resting chamber and saw the combat going on. He saw Mordru battling Pyro and The Scarlet Witch. It appeared that Mordru was evenly matched by the two teenagers.

_ "Time for me to tilt the battle," _ the super mutant thought. He immediately used his vast psychic abilities to attack the Scarlett Witch, attempting to remove her from the battle with Mordru. She shrieked with unbelievable pain and flew up in the air with the aid of a combination from the Legion flight ring and her own improbability powers. She clutched her head, crying out as her mind attacked itself using her own worst memories and painful emotions as weaponry . Suddenly the air was pierced with one last wail of agony and then she fell.

Apocalypse was pleased with himself. She would no longer be such a threat. He turned to the rest of the fight, hoping to find another easy target. To his surprise, he found himself confronted by two of the strangest creatures he had ever seen. One was about eight feet tall, with very sharp cutting blades on its forehead, arms, elbow, wrists and knees. It roared at him and started towards him, flashing its blades in many directions. Apocalypse started to move away from that one only to find his path blocked by a bluish furred creature. This one had blue and tan fur, with small arms, four sharp hooves and a small head. What was strange about the head, was the absence of a mouth or nose and two sets of eyes. One pair of eyes were in the somewhat normal position of humanoids while the other pair of eyes sat upon protruding stalks and rotated in every direction. The last thing he noticed was the very erect scorpion-like tail which ended in a menacing razor sharp blade.

He decided to take out these two threats first and let loose a fiery blast in the direction of the blue centaur-like creature. As the blast neared its intended target, it seemed to bounce harmlessly away before reaching it. There seemed to be a shimmering field around the two creatures. Suddenly, Apocalypse felt several intense beams of heat hitting him. Turning around, he was faced with Mon-El, Ultra Boy, Super Girl, Super Boy, Rogue and Ms. Marvel.

Each of them had turned their heat vision on the super mutant. They knew this would bother him and allow his targets to escape. Roaring in pain, the super mutant decided to fight back. He threw several intense blasts at the group. As they began dodging his repetitive blasts, a loud scream was heard, followed by a large thud. Distracted by the sound, Rogue was hit by one of Apocalypse's fiery blasts. Though she was invulnerable, she still felt the pain from the blast and fell to the floor.

As Apocalypse had tuned away from them, he did not see what happened when Wanda started dropping. Pyro abandoned Mordru and rushed to catch the Scarlet Witch.

She dropped into his arms, limp as a rag doll. He was mildly surprised by how little she weighed but that thought was forced away by panic. She was unconscious and looked paler than ever. He ripped his gloves off and frantically searched for a pulse and panic coursed through him when he couldn't find one on her wrists.

"Wanda? C'mon luv, wake up!" He cried, still frantically searching for a pulse. "Where's the damned Chaos Magic when OY need it te increase probability!" He cursed and cradled her head in his lap. He stroked her short hair in one hand and searched her neck for a pulse with the other. He sighed in tremendous relief when his fingers found a weak rhythm. "Ye scared me Sheila." He chuckled weakly, smiling down at her fragile face. "Now ye jus' gotta wake up. C'mon , Sheila. Oy need ye!"

Mordru took advantage of Pyro's distraction and sent a bolt of magic straight into the teenage boy's back. Pyro hollered in excruciating pain and clutched the Scarlet Witch closer to him so as to protect her from the evil sorcerer. When the pain became too much, he cried out and collapsed over her. Mordru laughed cruelly and moved on to his next victim, leaving the two teenage mutants' bodies where they'd fallen.

Magneto who had been helping where he could in the battle was frozen with horror. He had seen the entire ordeal. He had been thinking how proud he was of his beautiful daughter before she started shrieking, a sound that pierced his very soul. When she fell he had been so afraid for her...He knew what Apocalypse could do, having once involuntarily served under the evil mutant. He also knew that Apocalypse would not hesitate to do whatever harm he could.

Magneto's worst fear was that Apocalypse had put his little girl through such intense mental stress it had induced some sort of stroke. He was afraid to find out the answer to that. He would not be able to handle the guilt if she...no he couldn't let himself think that! He still needed to make up for his horrible errors in her childhood.

He marched toward the two fallen X-men, steeling his nerve for the worst. His face was ashen and set like stone. He frowned slightly at Pyro, who had his arms tightly around Wanda's unconscious body. It was hard for the Master of Magnetism to think of his daughter as any older than she had been when he left her in the asylum and he definitely did not wish to see his former followers getting too close to her.

Deciding he'd deal with this development later, he used his powers to hoist the young man into the air by the metal gas tank on his back. He gingerly bent and gathered his daughter gently into his arms. He was highly relieved as he observed that while her breathing was shallow, she was definitely breathing. He took a moment to study her. She had grown so much, and she looked so much like her mother did at that age. It was hard to imagine his baby girl as such a beautiful and grown up woman, but there was no denying that was exactly what she was.

He started toward the base, hoping very much that he came across either Pietro or Mystique's boy to get Wanda and Pyro to the infirmary before the damage was irreparable.

As she struggled to get up, Rogue noticed Colossus lying motionless on the floor nearby. She also saw The Time Trapper standing a little ways away. He had a huge grin on his face and seemed to have some sort of gun in his hands. A now free Magnum moved over to his side. She was handed a gun similar to what the Time Trapper was holding. Taking the weapon, she immediately pointed it at the blue centaur like creature. A yellow beam flew out of the weapon and made its way towards the Andalite morph of Pete Ross. He quickly fell to the floor screaming in agony.

Lana started screaming. When she had calmed herself after a bit, she used her thought speak ability to communicate with her husband.**_ Pete, you must de-morph now. You are seriously injured. DE-MORPH NOW! _**

****Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted. Magnum had fired once again. This time the disrupter beam hit Lana square in the back. Like Pete and Colossus, she hit the floor with a sick sounding thud. Immediately she began to de-morph to her natural state. As she finished de-morphing, she noticed Pete had also began the de-morphing process. Even though they had both resumed their natural forms, they continued to scream in agony.

Rogue saw this as she regained her balance and got to her feat. Nightcrawler and Quicksilver also noticed this. Pietro rapidly scooped up Pete and sped him back to Legion headquarters and into the infirmary. Shortly thereafter, Kurt was able to teleport Lana and Colossus to the infirmary where Betsy was able to heal them and allow them to rest.

When the two young men returned to the battle zone, they found the battle was still raging fiercely. Fortunately, no other casualties had been suffered by the Legion. At least that was what they thought until Pietro saw his father approaching with a grim expression. Pietro gasped and ran to his father's side when he saw his sister in the mans arms.

"What happened to her?" Pietro asked, paling at the site of his powerful sister looking so helpless.

"Apocalypse did this." Magneto's voice shook as he glanced down at his daughter. "I am not sure, but I believe the mental stress he put her through induced a stroke."

Pietro looked at his sister's face, struck with horror. "I'll get her back to base! She'll be okay...she has to be!" He cried and reached for her.

"Be careful Pietro." Magneto warned. "Jarring her abruptly may only damage her more!"

Pietro jerked his arms back.

"I vill take her zen." Kurt ported to Quicksilver's side. "I vill be careful, do not vorry." He gently eased the sleeping witch into his arms and teleported her to safety.

"Pietro, can you get Pyro to safety?"

Pietro nodded determinedly and zoomed off. Magneto returned to the battle.

Magnum looked at the disruptor beam in her hands. She had already seen what it could do. She could not believe the weapon's damage.

"What is this thing?" She asked. "This is not a weapon fitting a great assassin like myself. It is a coward's weapon, despite Mr. Sinister's adjustments to it." She looked at the weapon with something akin to revulsion. A ray gun--bah. More suited to a terrorist or a private in the North Korean army, not for use by talented assassins."

She cast the weapon to the floor and began looking for the gun she had dropped during the confrontation with Mystique and Colossus. As she reached down to grab the gun, she saw a metal boot step on the gun. Looking up she saw the black and red eyes of the cajun thief, Remy LeBeau.

"Uh uh uh." He wagged a finger at her. "Non gun f' y'. Somebody could get hurt."

As the battle raged, Mr. Sinister wandered away from the fighting. He had always been more of a scientist than a warrior. In truth fighting was really quite a waste of time in his opinion. He usually had others do any messy work he needed done.

As he entered the ship he discovered Crystal Amaquelin-Maximoff-Summers confined to her recharging pod, trapped in her power nullifier. When he had come upon her, he opened the recharging pod. Immediately, she began beseeching him to release her, not caring whether he was friend or foe. Carefully, he studied the power nullifier, searching for a way to remove it. He gently tugged on the device. Suddenly, it lit up and began beeping.

Back at the battle scene, Mordru continued to hurl his mystical bolts of energy at anyone who crossed his path Suddenly, he was confronted by a couple of Legionnaires, The White Witch and Dream Girl, as well as Scarlett Maximoff. Together the three teenagers proved to be able to hold their own against the vicious mage. They were pushing him back when Mordru suddenly realized who he was fighting against. With a malevolent grin, he sent a bolt towards the three newcomers. As they dodged, The White Witch and Dream Girl were separated from Scarlett.

"Oh the insolence of youth," Mordru taunted. "Didn't your mother teach you two anything?" Then he laughed. "No matter how powerful you think you may be, I am more so, for I am Mordru, the all powerful wizard and...," he added. "Your father."

**Well, that is it for this chapter. Before you go, please take a moment to let us know what you think. Kindly use the review button at the bottom of the page.**


	18. The Great Battle

At Last. Another update to End Of The World is finished. We apologize for the long wait. Heartsyhawk has been busy with college and Howlerdrode has been busy with his job.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following: Marvel Comics, DC Comics, the X-men, The Legion of Superheroes, any of their characters or Magnum. Magnum belongs to Slickboy444, who has graciously loaned her to this story

_**END OF THE WORLD**_

_**The Great Battle**_

**CHAPTER 18**

Dream Girl and The White Witch glared angrily at Mordru. "Why don't you tell us something we don't know, Mordru?" The White Witch replied disdainfully. "Mom told us that a long time ago. Though, its not like its something we were terribly proud of as we grew up. You claim to be so great, but if you were half the wizard you see yourself as you'd have stuck around and we wouldn't have grown up without a father. But apparently conquering the universe and mucking up our race's legacy was far more important than family to you. The time has come for you and your ilk to be stopped once and for all."

Dream Girl had been strangely silent during her sister's outburst. When The White Witch had finished her little speech, Dream Girl responded to Mordru. "We also know of your horrible crimes, Mordru, including the brutal murders of our mother and countless other members of our planet's populace. We are none to pleased to admit relation to you, and it is our sworn duty as Legionnaires to put an end to you and your crimes."

Mordru was somewhat taken aback by their response to his declaration. He had thought the super heroes would be shaken by the news that he was their father, but he was unnerved by how drastically he'd underestimated his daughters.

With a ferocious roar he proceeded to fire his magical bolts at them. To the master mage's surprise, the two young Legionnaires did not flinch. Instead, The White Witch seemed to absorb his energies and sent them back at him.

"You are getting weak, Mordru," She said. "Using all of your powers for evil and conquest has left you in a state of lessened power, old man." She smirked defiantly.

Once again, he sought to hit them with his mystical energies. Throwing every ounce of his strength into his attack, he hit Dream Girl full on with the bolt. Dream Girl was the weaker of the two sisters and the blow felled her.

Mysa saw her sister go down. Anger bubbled up from within her. She began firing her own Mystical bolts in Mordru's direction. The force of her bolts caused the evil sorcerer to stagger backwards. She continued to press her advantage. Suddenly, a yellow beam hit her square in the back. Her screams were drowned out by maniacal laughter. As she fell in agony, The White Witch saw the Time Trapper grinning.

Rond Vidar saw the White Witch fall. He quickly made his way over to his fallen friend and scooped her up. He was about to engage his flight belt when another yellow beam flashed by him. Rond dropped to the ground covering the White Witch. He was hoping that whoever had fired at him would think he had been hit and leave them alone.

Kurt teleported Wanda into the infirmary and called for some assistance. Betsy came and set her jaw.

"What happened?"

"I am not sure." Nightcrawler frowned. "She was like this when I ran into her father."

Pietro zoomed in, a wild and panicky look in his eyes. He deposited Pyro unceremoniously onto an empty bed and zipped to his sister's side.

"What's -wrong-with-her? Will-she-be-okay?" His eyes were wide and full of fear for his twin.

"Calm down." Betsy said. "Nightcrawler, lay her down here. Mind her head." She said, trying to remain calm. She hooked the Scarlet Witch up to some monitors. "Quicksilver, do you have any idea what happened to her?"

"No-I-was-bringing-that-Pete-Ross-guy-in-here." He shook his head frantically. "And-she-was-fighting-Apocalypse-and...and...and..." His eyes filled with tears. "It's-all-my-fault..."

"No it isn't." Betsy said soothingly.

"No, it is." Pietro sounded devastated. "I-should-have-been-there-to...to protect her." His voice hitched and he wiped furiously at his eyes. "But I wasn't...just-like-I-wasn't-there-for-Mom-or-Carmen. I-lost-them-and-now...now...now...I'm-gonna-lose-my-sister-too..."

He choked on a sob and clenched his eyes closed.

Betsy frowned and paused in her efforts to finish attaching Wanda to the various monitors before healing the girl. "Don't talk like that, please, Quicksilver."

"Yeah man, have a little faith." Kurt put a hand on Pietro's shoulder.

"What's-there-to-have-faith-in?" The speedster spat. "Take-a-nice-long-look-at-my-sister, Wagner. She-got-hurt-because-I-wasn't-there-for-her!"

"Pietro, you need to calm down, okay?" She set a hand on his shoulder.

He looked up, his blue eyes pooling with terror and anguish. "I-can't-lose-her. I-can't. I-don't-think-I-could-take-it!" His voice cracked. "Tell me honestly. Am I gonna lose her?" He asked in a voice that was little more than a hoarse whisper.

"I don't think so, Pietro." She smiled. "I'm going to do my best for her. I don't know what's wrong, but I think she'll be okay."

Pietro didn't seem to hear her. He was losing a battle to his own anguish and shaking slightly in the effort not to burst into tears. She sighed, realizing that despite his involvement in this epic battle, he was quite young; she didn't know for sure but she'd be remarkably surprised if he was a legal adult.

"Nightcrawler, could you get Pyro situated for me?" She asked pointedly.

Kurt nodded, understanding that Betsy wanted to give Pietro a little space. He walked around Pyro's bedside and began hooking him up to the machinery. Betsy had given him a quick crash course earlier as he kept bringing in the wounded more quickly than she could attend to them.

With Kurt occupied, she eased Pietro into a soothing hug. She knew he was nursing a broken heart after the loss of a girl he cared for and he'd just said something about his mother. It must be tearing him apart to see his powerful twin sister looking so incredibly helpless.

He tensed at the initial contact but a few moments later he had lost control over himself and was crying silently into her shoulder. She knew he'd taken leave of his pride and let him regain control over himself at his own pace.

"It'll be okay Pietro. I promise I'll do everything I can for your sister."

After a short while he'd calmed down considerably and pulled away, embarrassed by his break down.

"Sorry." He mumbled, wiping hastily at his eyes.

"There's nothing to be sorry for." She told him with a smile. "You're understandably upset. Your sister was hurt quite badly and you've already seen so much in this war."

He frowned heavily. "I hate this. We-don't-belong-in-this-time-or-this-stupid-fight-at-all. I-just-want-to-go-home." He sighed and reached for his sister's pale hand. "I don't know if I could handle it if she...doesn't make it." He gulped. "She's-my-sister, my-twin. And I only just got her back..."

Betsy nodded. She didn't understand what he meant by that, but she definitely knew how she felt about her own sister, and she couldn't imagine being in the young albino's shoes.

She walked up to Wanda and gently touched the girl's hand to see if she could see where the damage was, as there were no tell-tale marks visible on her body. Her ability suggested great damage to the girl's body with the most extensive damage to her mind and she frowned. She lay her hands on the girl's temples and concentrated. She felt the glow and pull of her powers as the energy transferred.

As the damage mended the monitors displayed Wanda's biostats stabilizing. Pietro watched with hope in his eyes as his sister's heart rate grew stronger. Then he frowned.

"Why-isn't-she-waking-up?" The panic was back in his voice. "Something-isn't-right! What's-happening? What-is-wrong-with-her!?"

Betsy shook her head and laughed slightly as she continued her efforts. "Nothing is wrong with her Pietro. She's just a bit worn out. She's been through a lot. Whatever happened did her a lot of harm. It wasn't easy to heal her. But after she sleeps it off, she'll be as good as new."

"Really? You think so?"

"Look for yourself." Betsy smiled and gestured to the display monitors. "Her heart rate is strong and regular, and her other stats are returning to normal as well. She'll be fine after a bit of rest. She's a pretty strong girl, Pietro."

"Yeah." He smiled and squeezed his sister's hand affectionately. "She is."

"Well, I ought to see to Pyro's injuries." She frowned and glanced at the redhead, whose face was contorted with pain, even in unconsciousness. "Would you like to stay with her until she wakes up?"

Pietro looked at Wanda and nodded, about to say yes. But then he shook his head. "No. I-mean, I'd-love-to-and-I-really-want-to...but she's safe here. Everyone-outside-can't-say-that. I-don't-want-anyone-else-to-get-hurt-when...when-I-could-have-saved-them." His eyes held a glazed and haunted look and she knew he was dwelling on the tragic death of the girl he cared for. "I think I should get back outside and do my part to make sure everyone stays safe."

"That's probably a good idea." Betsy smiled and set a hand on his shoulder.

He gently squeezed his sister's hand one more time and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Get better, sis. I swear I'll never forgive you if you die on me." With that he turned and raced off.

Betsy smiled at the boy's display of affection for his twin and turned to Pyro. She took a deep breath and tended to Pyro. As his own wounds and damage mended the look of excruciating pain melted from his face as he drifted off to sleep.

With her attention on a different patient, Betsy wasn't paying any attention to Wanda's display monitors. She didn't see the sudden spiking on the brain monitor and the expressions of horror and agony which fluttered across the teenaged girl's face.

Pietro made it outside just in time to see Rond fall over the White Witch. Quickly he sped over to them. A few seconds later, he realized that Rond was ok. The White Witch, however, had been hit with a molecular disruptor and there was no time to lose. Quickly the albino speedster scooped up the unconscious girl and raced back to Legion headquarters. Once again, Betsy was forced to put her healing power to work.

TSEEEEWWWWWWWW Cyclops unleashed an optic blast toward Apocalypse. He and Jean had taken on the ancient mutant after seeing the damage done to Wanda. Scott may not have been terribly close to the female Maximoff twin, but she was still a member of his team and as the team leader it was his job to keep the younger girl safe.

As Wanda fell through the air Scott attacked Apocalypse to prevent him from striking again. Jean telekinetically slowed the Scarlet Witch's fall and made sure to brace thee younger girl's head when she landed in Pyro's waiting arms.

Jean allowed herself a very brief moment to marvel at how self-less Pyro's concern for Wanda had been. He had thrown caution for his own safety to the wind and had scrambled to catch the unconscious girl before she hit the ground. But Jean could not dwell on how sweet it was for very long, as the link she shared with Scott was screaming his need of assistance.

She was jarred back into reality by her psychic connection and the slightly terrifying sensation-or lack thereof-emitted by Wanda. The girl was unconscious but even so, she should be displaying some mental signs of life. She bit her lip and worried about what this meant but Scott's mental plea for help drew her into the battle with the powerful villain.

She fired a mental blast at the ancient super mutant and he retaliated, but she instinctively ducked behind a shield conjured by her mind. The blast of psychic energy rebounded on it's sender, and Scott took the opportunity to fire another blast of energy from his visor.

Apocalypse roared and retaliated, but Scott easily dodged the blow. Jean cut it a little closer and almost didn't dodge. Fortunately she was able to force the blast to ricochet back to Apocalypse.

Everything okay? Scott called to her through their link. That was a little too close for comfort.

I'm fine. She assured him.

You sure, you seem a bit distracted... Scott frowned as he released another attack on Apocalypse.

I guess I'm just a little shaken by all today's excitement. She shrugged and sent a blast of psychic energy to their foe.

Oh. He replied. as he darted away from an attack and rolled expertly to right his balance before sending yet another blast from his eyes. Yeah, it's not every day we're in a fight to save the universe, is it? He joked.

Well, no. But it's not that. She admitted.

Then what? Scott sent a worried glance at her and regretted it immediately when he barely had time to get away from a powerful blast. He set his jaw as it rushed by, inches from his left ear. What's got you so worried?

Remy. She admitted as she sent another psychic blast. I've got mixed feelings about him right now.

Scott stopped in his tracks and stared at his girlfriend, dumbstruck. What about him? He paid for the foolish action as he was blasted backwards by the Villain they were fighting.

Careful! Jean called out, missing the jealousy and suspicion in Scott's tone. She fired another mental burst at Apocalypse who staggered slightly. It's this whole thing with him having a fiancée. I can't believe he didn't tell any of us...I bet Rogue's crushed.

Oh that. Scott sounded very relieved but Jean attributed it to his lucky dodge of Apocalypse's attack. Can you believe how sleezy Gambit is? That isn't something you keep from your team.

Or your friends. Jean sighed. Or a girl who you know is half crazy for you.

Scott looked confused as he threw another blast at Apocalypse. Who's crazy for Gambit?

Jean sighed. Why do you think Rogue was so upset by Remy's announcement?

Easy, they're friends and he was keeping secrets. Scott shrugged. She doesn't like secrets.

Jean raised an eyebrow. Scott, she wasn't just hurt because he was keeping secrets. She was hurt because that Belladonna girl is his fiancée, someday his wife. Meaning he's off the market. Which also means that she doesn't stand a chance.

I don't see the problem...she doesn't want a chance. Scott said matter-of-factly before sending another optic blast at Apocalypse.

Jean sighed again. Scott, you're one of the most oblivious guys I've ever met. She loves him. She pretends not to so she can avoid ridicule and pain. And now...she's pretty much 'the other woman'.

But she hates him...doesn't she? Scott asked, still confused.

Not really, Scott. Jean frowned. But now...she just might.

Then what's the problem? Scott asked blankly. He staggered backwards as Apocalypse landed a blow.

Careful Scott! Jean bellowed and fired several quick mental bursts. She could tell their foe was surprised the two young mutants were lasting so long single handedly against him. The problem is, Remy probably just broke Rogue's heart.

Scott opened his mouth to reply but was unable to as Apocalypse noticed he was distracted and sent a massive blast of energy at the leader of the X-men. Scott flew backwards and hit the ground with a sickening thud.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Jean cried aloud as she watched her boyfriend fall. Tears sprang to her eyes and she sent a rapid series of blasts at Apocalypse. She was furious and her heart ached with fear. Somehow this only served to increase her power level.

She sensed Apocalypse staggering, weakened by her retaliation and she landed beside Scott, calling him through their link.

Scott? Scott?! Please be alright, please! She sobbed through their mental link, acutely aware that he was not hearing her or responding. Scott, please!

She held his hand, and cried, not knowing how bad the damage was. While she was distracted Apocalypse rose from where he'd fallen and unleashed a powerful blast of energy at her. And she dropped, unconscious, falling over her beau's already unconscious body.

Super Girl saw Dream Girl's unconscious body. Realizing she had been hit with a bolt of Mordru's powerful magic, Kara flew at super speed to Dream Girl's side. Quickly, she picked up the unconscious legionnaire and flew her back to Legion HQ. Returning back to the battle, Super Girl arrived just in time to see Scott and Jean both collapse in a heap from plasma bolts from Apocalypse. Quickly, she grabbed the two X-men and flew them back to Betsy. The young mutant was going to be very busy before this battle was over.

Back at the battle, Universo saw The Time Trapper fire the molecular disruptor at his son. Seething with white-hot rage, Universo turned his gun towards the Time Trapper and fired. As luck would have it, Forge and Sun Boy happened to step into the path of the molecular disruptor beam. Both of them collapsed in a heap.

ltra Boy saw his two teammates fall and quickly scooped them up and flew them back to the Legion's Base. After depositing them in the infirmary, the young Rimborian flew back into the battle. When he arrived, he witnessed Apocalypse hurling plasma bolts and a super magnetic pulse at Phantom Girl. Turning on his super speed, he flew into the path of the blasts. As the bolts reached him, he turned on his heat vision to incinerator level and directed the fiery beams directly at Apocalypse.

"You have picked the wrong legionnaire to tick off, Apocalypse," Ultra Boy roared. Immediately, the invulnerable teen started advancing towards the evil super-mutant. Just as he was about to switch to super strength and launch a powerful haymaker at the Super mutant, a voice echoed in his head. "**_No, Ultra Boy. You must not come into skin to skin contact with Apocalypse. Like Rogue he has the power of super absorption." _**Recognizing the telepathic voice of Saturn Girl, Jo Nah quickly switched on his heat vision again and began forcing the evil villain back away from Phantom Girl.

Meanwhile, Magnum found herself in a confrontation with Gambit. The Cajun had planted his heavy boot on the gun she wanted and was not allowing her to grab it. She growled in frustration and karate chopped the knee of the leg which pinned her gun to the floor. He staggered slightly and a look of pain crossed his features.

She grabbed for the gun as his foot loosened the pressure instinctively and when her fingers closed around the metal she flashed the Cajun a wicked grin. Before he had time to blink she'd rolled herself upright and fired two quick and deadly accurate bullets. He howled in pain as he realized that a bullet had torn through each of his knees.

Rogue heard Gambit's agonized cries and was half tempted to ignore them. She knew it was childish, but he'd betrayed her trust in a more violent way than anyone had ever yet managed. She hadn't yet allowed the full effect of the situation to sink in properly and she wasn't sure she wanted to, but still it hurt. She figured she'd leave him wounded, just so he'd know how it felt to hurt and have nobody care.

However as soon as that thought passed through her head several others assaulted her. She knew it was petty and childish to want to let him suffer so badly, and she knew the X men were supposed to watch out for their own. She almost rolled her eyes as she imagined one of Scott's excruciatingly boring lectures about leaving disputes with teammates off the battlefield and having each other's backs and all that other stuff.

So she sighed and began searching for the swamp rat. She didn't want to acknowledge him as Remy right now, as that was far too personal, and Gambit was the name he'd chosen for himself. She couldn't believe that just a few days ago she would hear either of those names and blush like some sort of retarded school girl. She couldn't believe she'd almost got comfortable referring to him as a boyfriend. She shook her head to clear that chain of thought. She couldn't afford to go there right now. After the battle, she promised herself, there'd be plenty of time to mull everything over and sulk and do some mega damage in the Danger Room.

She nearly fell out of the air in horrified shock when she finally located her wounded teammate. He was down, his knees couldn't possibly support him. Both were gruesome and bloody and damaged beyond logical repair. In fact, if she hadn't known there was a very qualified healer back at the base, she'd have sworn Remy LeBeau would never walk again.

She acted before she had time to process any thought. She darted down to the ground and carefully scooped him into her arms. Her mind processed a bitter hint of irony as she rushed him bridal style to the infirmary.

She heard someone yelling, in Russian, something in her head informed her helpfully and then she heard a gun fire. She jerked and did a sort of awkward pirouette in midair to prevent the bullet from hitting Remy. As the bullet bounced harmlessly off the back of her shoulder she gave into the childish urges and stuck her tongue out at the woman who had opened fire on her.

Magnum swore violently in her native language as a reply.

"Ya'll hafta hold that thought, Sugah!" Rogue called irritably to the Russian assassin. "Ah promise Ah'll be back in two shakes uva lambs tail."

She continued her journey and she was surprised to hear the Cajun hoarsely address her.

"T'ank y'." Her injured teammate murmured. "F'r a minute there...t'ought that m' number fin'ly came up."

"Nope." She frowned and wondered how he hadn't passed out from pain yet. "Guess someone's lookin' out fo' ya, LeBeau."

"Y'are like an Angel, chére." He mumbled hoarsely.

Tears pricked at Rogue's eyes as the memory of Scott saying something almost identical to that years ago, before she was even a member of the X-men. "Ah'm no Angel." She sighed sadly. "An' Ah tol' ya not ta call me that."

He might have had a response to that, but he'd finally crossed his pain threshold and passed out in her arms, leaving her all alone again. She left him in the infirmary and realized that the fight was likely over for Gambit, at least for a while.

As Rogue flew away, two more "legionnaires" stepped up to take on Magnum. Mystique and Magneto joined in the fray. "You know, you are pretty good with your guns, Magnum. Let's see how you do without them." Magneto used his powers to pull the gun from Magnum's hand and put it in his belt.

"Those are not yours!" She roared.

"Haven't you ever heard of finders, keepers?" Mystique taunted as she stepped forward.

"You act like an impudent child." Magnum scoffed.

"I am not the one whining over the loss of my favorite toy." Mystique smirked.

"I do not need a weapon to destroy you." Magnum growled. "For I excel in hand to hand combat in addition to my mastery of weaponry. I will tear you limb from limb for your insolence."

"Big talk." Mystique raised an eyebrow.

"It is not talk." Magnum spat. "It is a challenge. I will beat you with only my body as a weapon."

Mystique looked intrigued. "Somebody sounds confident."

"With very good reason." Magnum assured her. "I can beat you without my guns."

"You realize, of course, that I'm a shapeshifter?" Mystique said coyly.

"If you fight with honor we shall fight as equals. We will both lay down our weaponry and you will not use your silly little mutation to your advantage. I want to fight honorably."

Mystique inspected her nails. "Works for me."

And with that the battle started. Both women were trained in martial arts and both were limber and in excellent shape from years of practice. The two were pretty much an equal match and blocked each new blow before the opponent could land a hit. For a while they threw graceful punches and choreographed kicks and neither managed to get through the other's defenses. Both of them were fighting flawlessly and to a spectator it might have looked like a well rehearsed dance.

Both women were tiring considerably when Mystique landed her first hit. Magnum was infuriated and faked a punch before swinging a leg out to sweep her foe to floor. Mystique was hurled off balance and Magnum seized the opportunity to quickly jab at several of the other woman's pressure points, effectively knocking the mutant unconscious.

Magneto cried out as Mystique hit the ground hard. He had not been expecting that. He had been slightly worried at the start but had gained heart when his ally had not been outmatched. He had felt a ringing pride in his heart when Mystique's punch connected with Magnum's jaw. But seeing her defeated sent a spike of panic through his body. He rushed forward and gingerly picked up his colleague before hurrying to the base.

Pietro had just retuned to the battle when he heard a shrill siren sound. As he approached the source of the alarm he discovered Sinister attempting to remove the power nullifier from around Crystal's neck.

"Don't worry my dear. I will have you out of this device soon. Brace yourself. This could be painful for you." His hands began to glow an eerie orange and soon the entire power nullifier was glowing in the same way. "Unlike my miserable failure of a son, I am perfectly able to control my charging ability, and cause things to dissolve without exploding, usually," Sinister laughed. As the glow of kinetically excited energy started to fade, Pietro entered the room.

"Oh no you don't, Sinister." Pietro began running as fast as he could in circles around the two villains. The faster he ran, the more the wind picked up. Sinister stopped charging the power nullifier.

He gave a sinister smile before concentrating his energies into a plasma bolt, which he directed into the swirling vortex that was Pietro. Pure Energy traveling at the speed of light caught up in the vortex. Suddenly there was a scream and all was still. As the swirling winds died away, Quicksilver was laying on the floor, in a puddle of blood with a huge gaping wound in his chest. Sinister laughed maniacally for a moment before returning his attention to the troublesome power nullifier. Once again, his hands began to glow with the eerie orange glow. A few seconds later, the power nullifier was glowing again. Then just as suddenly as the glow appeared, Sinister turned it off. When the glow was gone so was the power nullifier. Crystal was free.

Sinister was surprised by her deathly silence. He had expected her to at least be grateful for freeing her from her confinement. Instead, he was met with cold silence. And an even colder stare.

"You monster...do you have any idea what you've just done?" She suddenly screamed. "You killed him! You killed my daughter's father! What will become of her now that her father will not live to so much as meet me?!" Sobbing, she threw herself on Pietro's unconscious body.

"This is a war, sacrifices are an unavoidable occurence," Sinister said coldly as he walked from the room.

Crystal bit her lip and pondered what she should do. She knew she should feel no remorse for Pietro, as he was the enemy in this war, but he was so young...She realized he'd not yet met her in his current timeline and if he died before then, her baby girl would not exist and while marrying Pietro had been a living nightmare (Wanda had always loathed Crystal and nobody sane would want Magneto as a father in law), she did care for him and she couldn't imagine a life without their daughter.

After a brief hesitation she decided to throw caution to the wind. She picked up Pietro and began looking for a way out of the ship. A few seconds later a gaping hole in the ship's hull appeared before her. Cautiously, she stepped outside into the dawn's early light. She suddenly found herself face to face with Cosmic Boy and Magneto. The two masters of magnetism had combined forces to rip apart the ship.

Magneto went pale when he saw Crystal carrying his son. He had just returned from delivering an unconscious Mystique to legion headquarters so Betsy could heal her. When he saw his son, he moved over to the young woman and took him from her outstretched arms. He felt warm tears slide down his cheeks. First his daughter was put out of commission by an Apocalypse induced stroke, then the woman he cared for deeply was taken down by Magnum and now his son was severely injured and bleeding profusely.

Cosmic Boy looked at Magneto and then at Crystal. Thinking quickly, he grabbed Crystal and told Magneto to fly Quicksilver back to legion headquarters. Then he took off with Crystal to put her into the detention wing. Pietro was flown directly to the infirmary. Once again, Betsy sighed and went to work. The infirmary was becoming very crowded.

Cosmic Boy placed a power nullifier around Crystal's neck as he led her to the detention wing. "Who are you?" He questioned. "And what happened to Quicksilver?"

Crystal sighed. She was a prisoner again but this time there was no Sinister to free her. "My name is Crystal Amaquelin Maximoff Summers. Pietro's my ex-husband and the father of my daughter, Luna. Or he will be in his future. We split up and I'm now married to Sebastian Morrison Summers, but you know him as \Cyclops II. Where is my husband anyway? He disappeared in the first battle with you guys.?"

Cosmic Boy looked at the woman before him. "I can't honestly say where he is right now. I do know that he is not in any of our detention cells here. As for your confusing relationship to Quicksilver, that does not explain how he came to be injured."

Crystal was nearly in tears. "Apocalypse brought this new guy to join us in the battle. He calls himself Mr. Sinister. He is a mutant scientist. This scientist was the one who removed the collar I was wearing. Quicksilver caught him and tried to attack. Sinister responded by sending a plasma bolt into the swirling vortex that Quicksilver whipped up. When the vortex stopped, he was on the floor in a pool of blood. I had just picked him up when the hull of the ship was ripped apart by you and Magneto," Crystal answered. "What is going to happen to me now? Am I to just disappear like my husband did?"

Cosmic Boy looked at Crystal. "No, you will remain here until this battle is finished. At that time, you will be turned over to the authorities for a fair trial," He replied. "As for your husband, when he is found, he will also be turned over to the authorities for trial. Oh and the power nullifier around your neck does have an explosive charge embedded in it. So do not try to remove it."

"That's it then? I just have to wait here until the battle is over? What if you guys are not victorious? What then?"

Cosmic Boy smiled. "You should hope that we will be as I don't think Apocalypse will be treating you so kindly as we plan to. I know that Mordru won't. It is up to the Legion of Super Heroes to stop these would be conquerors."

Crystal fell silent. She knew that he was probably right. She did not like being in this battle and wasn't working freely with Apocalypse any way if the truth be told. She just wanted to go home to her little girl.

Cosmic Boy then sealed her into her cell and left the woman to ponder her fate. Once outside, he found Magneto sitting under a tree. The older mutant was staring off into the distance.

"Magneto, I know that your children are both in the infirmary. Do you want to remain behind and be with them? You do not have to return to the battle if you do not want to."

Eric turned to the young legionnaire. "Thank you for the kind offer, Cosmic Boy. But I feel my place is on the battlefield, protecting those I care about. The three people I care for most in the world are in that infirmary."

Cosmic Boy looked slightly surprised. "Three?"

Magneto chuckled dryly. "My daughter is recovering from some sort of stroke, my son is...well you saw him. And the woman I care very deeply for is lying there, broken." He noticed Cosmic Boy's confused look. "Mystique. She has worked with me many times in the past. But when Magnum hurt her, I realized I care for her as more than a soldier or an ally or even a friend. After my wife died, I tried to close my heart to love, which led me to make some terrible choices in parenting. But seeing Mystique fall today touched my heart. I feel for her in a way I have not allowed myself to feel for any woman since Magda's death." He sighed. "But I must do my part in this fight to prevent the evil doers from achieving a victory. I want nothing more than to be a family again, with my son and daughter and maybe someday Mystique and her own two children. But for now let us return so that we can get this war over with."

As the two masters of Magnetism headed back to the battle, Betsy found some good news. Her healing ability was about to gain her some help. Lana and Pete were recovered from their injuries and got out of their beds. "Betsy, can we help you? they asked in unison. "We were taking care of the injured before you came to this time. You look like you could use a bit of a break, yourself," Lana told her.

Betsy smiled. "I would appreciate any help you can give me. As you can see, this infirmary is getting quite crowded with injured heroes."

As she finished, Betsy teetered slightly, looking exhausted. Using her healing powers as much as she had been doing left her feeling very weak. As she fell, Lana caught her. "Woah, girl. You need to rest a bit yourself. You are exhausted." Lana exclaimed as she led the young mutant to a cot. "Lie down, we will take care of the injured while you rest."

Betsy smiled weakly as she looked up at Lana and Pete. "Perhaps you are right," she said, laying back on the cot. Within seconds, she was sound asleep.

Back at the battle, Magneto and Cosmic Boy had arrived just in time to witness the heated exchange between Ultra Boy and Apocalypse. Suddenly, Apocalypse waved his hand and fired a plasma bolt at Ultra Boy. Because Ultra Boy was using his heat vision against the super mutant, he was unable to switch to invulnerability in time and the plasma bolt hit him square in the chest. (author's note: Ultra Boy can only use one super power at a time.) Cosmic Boy watched in horror as his good friend fell to the ground.

Magneto then attacked Apocalypse to allow Cosmic Boy an opportunity to rescue Ultra Boy. There had been another witness to the fight. Super Boy flew over to Ultra Boy and scooped him up. Using his super speed, he quickly flew Ultra Boy back to headquarters. After putting Ultra Boy onto a cot, he looked around. Lana and Pete came over to them.

"What happened to Ultra Boy?" Pete asked.

"He was hit by a plasma bolt by Apocalypse," Super Boy replied. Looking around, he asked: "Is Betsy around? Ultra Boy needs help really bad."

"We will do what we can, Super boy," Lana replied. "As for Betsy, she is currently sleeping. She collapsed from exhaustion."

Super Boy looked at his two friends. "Take care of the wounded then. I must get back because we are really short handed right now." With that comment, the boy of steel flew back to the battle. Just as he arrived, he saw Universo throw a green chunk of rock in the direction of his cousin, Super Girl. "Kara, look out for that..." he screamed but was too late. Just as he feared, the rock was Kryptonite and it landed right near Kara. Immediately Super Girl collapsed to the ground. Super Boy dared not get too close to the rock himself and could not rescue her. Fortunately, Element Lad saw the rock near Kara. Using his power, he changed the rock's composition into harmless iron.

As Super Girl recovered from the Kryptonite poisoning, Mordru unleashed a powerful bolt of magic and hurled it at her. Kara screamed as she fell back to the ground. Another bolt fold its mark and Element Lad also went down. Mordru laughed as he turned to find another victim. To his surprise, he was face to face with Scarlett. Immediately, he hurled a powerful magic bolt at her. Scarlett's response was to redirect the bolt towards Universo and the Time Trapper. Universo was hit and screamed in agony.

Another bolt was hurled at her. This time, Scarlett redirected the bolt back at Mordru. As the magic found him, the master sorcerer bellowed in anger and pain. Once more he hurled a mystical bolt of energy at the rookie legionnaire. This time, she redirected it towards Apocalypse. Apocalypse looked stunned when it hit him. Super Boy, in the meantime, had scooped up Super Girl and Element Lad and was carrying them back to Legion Headquarters. Once again, he found Pete and Lana tending to the wounded. Betsy was still unconscious. As he deposited Element Lad and Super Girl into cots, he noticed that the room was quite full. He was about to leave again when Saturn Girl and Mon-El arrived. They were carrying Lightning Lad and Brainiac 5, both of whom had been injured as well.

"Super Boy, wait up," called Mon-El. "We have too many injuries and need to get everybody back here as soon as possible." Looking around, he suddenly saw Betsy in a cot as well. "What happened to her?" He asked. Just then, Pete and Lana came up.

"Betsy collapsed from exhaustion. Apparently, she over taxed herself with her healing abilities. She should be fine after a good night's sleep," Lana told him. "In the meantime, we need to get the rest of the team back so that we can all get some much needed sleep."

Just then, Night Crawler teleported into the room, carrying an unconscious Shadow Kat. He was soon followed by Sun Boy who was carrying an unconscious Ms. Marvel. Looking around, Mon-El made his decision. "Super Boy and Saturn Girl, you two go back and tell the others to return. The rest of us will remain here and help tend the wounded."

Super Boy and Saturn Girl each took off for the battle scene. Along the way, Saturn Girl opened the secure channel of her flight ring. "**_Attention, all Legionnaires and X-Men! Mon-El has given the order to retreat. All of you must return to headquarters immediately. Disengage and retreat." _**

****Using her telepathy, she sent the message to all of the legionnaires and X-Men. One by one they all started to return to base. All of them except for Rogue, Avalanche and Scarlett. Rogue was busily fighting with the dangerous assassin, Magnum and Scarlett was still involved in her battle with Mordru. Avalanche was battling with The Time Trapper. He had been about to slip a power nullifier onto the unconscious Universo when the Time Trapper had interrupted his efforts.

The Time Trapper fired his molecular disruptor at Avalanche but missed. Avalanche responded by quaking the ground under the Time Trapper's feet, causing him to lose his balance. A beam fell from the ship, just barely missing the Time Trapper's head. It did, however, have the effect of pinning him to the ground. Quickly, Avalanche snapped the collar around Universo's neck and activated it. He turned towards the Time Trapper to put a collar on him as well but had to dodge an energy beam fired at him. Just then, he finally heard Saturn Girl's message come through his flight ring. Scooping up the still unconscious Universo, he took off towards Legion Headquarters.

Rogue, meanwhile, had kept her word and returned to battle Magnum. The assassin was proving to be a very worthwhile adversary. Her skill in close quarters combat tactics kept Rogue on the defensive. Rogue was also trying to subdue the assassin but did not really want to injure the woman.

Finally, Magnum screamed in Russian and lunged at her in an attempt to strike her down. As Rogue dodged the assault, she reached out and grabbed the angry woman. Not realizing that Magnum had no mutant abilities, she activated her absorption power. Magnum quickly was rendered unconscious. A few seconds later, all of Magnum's memories flooded into Rogue's mind. As the mental images played themselves out in her head, Rogue realized something terrible...

"Oh, mah...," she shrieked. "She ain' even a mutant. What is she doin in this fight?" With a start, she realized that she had probably injured the poor woman after all. Sickened by what she had done, Rogue gathered up the now comatose Magnum and started to head back to Legion headquarters. "Here's ta hopin' that healer girl can help this one too," she thought.

Scarlett was dodging Mordru's mystical energy bolts and redirecting them when she could. She seemed to be holding her own in the fight but she was beginning to fatigue. Finally, she took refuge behind a large column. Mordru paused to collect his breath. He too was beginning to tire. Never before had he run into someone like Scarlett.

Every time, it seemed, that he fired at her, she would either redirect his attack somewhere else or send it back at him. He was about to use his mystical shadows to find her when the entire ship went black. Seizing her opportunity, Scarlett teleported herself back to Legion headquarters and to safety. Just as suddenly as the ship went black, the lights came back on. Mordru looked around. The accursed legionnaires were all gone.

Rogue landed at Legion headquarters carrying the now comatose Magnum in her arms. As she entered the infirmary she began calling out for help. Super Boy rushed out to help his colleague. Seeing the unconscious Magnum in her arms, he quickly took the woman to a vacant cot. Rogue suddenly began sobbing. "Ah did not know she was not a mutant. Ah absorbed her and now she is in a coma. Please help her. Ah do not want her to die."

Saturn Girl moved over to the wailing X-Girl. "It will be okay, Rogue. She won't die. We can help her."

Lana and Pete moved over to Magnum's cot. Quickly, they hooked up the unconscious woman to a heart and brain monitor. Her vital signs were fluctuating wildly. Clearly this woman's life was in danger.


	19. Recovery And The Road To Honor

_**At Last. Another update to End of the World is finished. We apologize for the long wait. Heartsyhawk has been busy with college and Howlerdrode has been busy with his job.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following: Marvel Comics, DC Comics, the X-men, The Legion of Superheroes, any of their characters or Magnum. Magnum belongs to Slickboy444, who has graciously loaned her to this story.**_

_**END OF THE WORLD**_

_**CHAPTER 19**_

_**RECOVERY AND THE ROAD TO HONOR**_

Rogue was beside herself. She had used her absorption power on a non-mutant and rendered her unconscious. She was terrified that Magnum would die because of what she had done. She hadn't meant to do her opponent such harm, and she'd never stopped to think about what might happen. She'd just assumed that

the woman was a mutant and would just be incapacitated for a short time.

She bit her lip and frowned at the display monitors. She had gotten control of her powers and entirely discarded the caution she had exercised to keep this exact thing from happening. That alone was a sobering realization but her eyes widened as the reality of what the monitors were telling her sank in.

Magnum's vital stats were fluctuating horribly. The woman was in a very critical state-and it was entirely Rogue's fault.

Rogue started panicking and breathing heavily. Hot tears of horror flooded down her face and she cried out.

"Oh God...someone help her! Ah didn't mean for this to happen, Ah swear!" She sobbed.

Saturn Girl looked up at the young mutant's outburst and quickly sized up the situation.

"Rogue, you need to calm down." She said sternly, concerned about the hysterical state Rogue was working herself into.

"Calm down, you gotta be kiddin' me! Look at her, she's dyin! And it's all becausa me!"

"Rogue, accidents happen."

"But it wasn't an accident!" Rogue sobbed. "Ah wanted to hurt her! Ah know better than anyone what mah pow'rs do! Ah just didn't know she isn't..."

"I'm sorry Rogue." Saturn Girl apologized.

Before the X-man could react, Saturn girl set her jaw and telepathically forced her way into Rogue's head. She located a sleeping mechanism and forced the girl's body to shut down. She gently guided Rogue's body to a bed and sighed. It would do nobody any good for Rogue to have a panic attack and kill herself with guilt.

Saturn Girl turned her attention to Magnum. Stepping up to the cot of the unconscious warrior, she placed her hands on the sides of Magnum's head. She telepathically entered Magnum's brain. After a few moments, she found the trauma center and placed a telepathic command in there to relax and to stabilize the vital signs.

Within a few minutes, Magnum's heart rate and brain activity recessed into a normal pattern. As Saturn Girl slowly withdrew from Magnum's mind, she noticed that the respiration and blood pressure readings had also receded back to normal levels of a person who was sleeping. Thanks to the quick thinking of the telepathic legionnaire, the villain would live to fight another day. Saturn Girl could only hope this would prove to be a good thing.

Once Magnum's vital signs were stabilized, Saturn Girl looked around. She couldn't remember a time when the infirmary had been so full. The room was currently crowded with legionnaires and X-men, all of whom were in various stages of recovery for a varying array of injury.

Saturn girl's eyes stayed for a moment on the two villains, Magnum and Universo before resting on the form of Betsy Danvers in one of the beds. She frowned, puzzled.

"She's exhausted, Saturn Girl. She isn't used to using her powers so strenuously and it can't be any less draining with all the pressure she undoubtedly feels has been lain on her. She needs rest though she should be fine in the morning," Lana explained. "In the

meantime, however, Pete and I have been doing our best to keep everyone's conditions stable."

"Thank you, Lana," Saturn Girl replied. "We all appreciate your efforts and sacrifices. Hopefully this war will not drag on too much longer. For right now, however, I will watch over the wounded and you and your husband should follow Ms. Danvers' lead and get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

After Lana had left, Saturn Girl walked to bedside of the X-men's Scarlet Witch. While she was still sleeping, it seemed that her rest was anything but peaceful.

Wanda was whimpering slightly and tossing and turning in her sleep. Her face was contorted with pain and misery and every so often she would cry out in a heart stirring way-like a child trapped in a nightmare.

Saturn Girl sighed. There was not much that could be done for the young mutant. All her physical injuries had been healed, and thus the source of Wanda's suffering was from the nightmares assaulting her mind. So far the attempts to wake her had done nothing to stop the terrors from coming.

Saturn Girl hurriedly checked the rest of the injured. The two captured villains, Magnum and Universo were stabilized and secured. It appeared that Universo was in the worst condition, suffering from a concussion and plasma burns. Saturn Girl put power nullifiers on both of them as a precautionary measure and had Super Boy and Mon-El take them to the detention level.

She intended to question all of the prisoners in the morning. Finally, after making sure everyone else had been taken care of, she made her way over to Lightning Lad. Apparently, he had taken a blast from Mordru and was in a coma. Tears fell down her face as she checked the monitors and chart of her husband.

'_Garth, get better soon. I need you,'_ she thought.

She couldn't bear seeing her husband so broken and moved away from him, back to Wanda's bedside, in hopes of discovering a way to help the young mutant's troubled mind to allow her some peaceful rest. Saturn Girl had just picked up her chart, when Magneto came up to her.

"How is she doing?" He asked in a soft voice

Saturn Girl looked up and could see the worry in the man's eyes. He was visibly upset, and rightly so, considering the condition of both of his children.

"She's going to be fine...physically at least. She's doing much better than her brother at any rate." Saturn Girl said with a sigh. Her eyes slid to the next bed over and regarded Pietro. His injuries were significant and fairly serious. In fact he had only just stopped hemorrhaging blood from his chest several minutes before when Pete cauterized the wounds to stop the bleeding. "Her injuries were healed before any permanent damage was done to her brain by the effects of the stroke like attack she endured. However...she seems to be suffering intense troubling dreams...nightmares if you will." She frowned slightly. "And your son is recovering as well as can be expected when you consider the extent of his injuries. His vitals are stable and his own naturally rapid healing process is helping a great deal. Our healer unfortunately exhausted herself before she could tend to him, but he'll be none the worse for it and in any case she'll be back on her feet first thing in the morning to finish what his own system doesn't manage to have mended."

Magneto looked sadly at the two of his children. "I've never been much of a father to them-to either of them. I allowed my hatred and grudge against non-mutants to consume me entirely. I've always been so busy...they grew up from mischievous toddlers to a fine young man and woman without my notice. I've realized now that they are all I have... I am not foolish enough to believe I could turn back the hands of time and regain the time I've lost with them...but I want the three of us to be a family once this mess is cleared up a bit." The man sighed heavily. "I don't know how I allowed myself to forget what is truly important. But I won't let myself repeat this stupidity." He looked away from the disheartening forms of his son and daughter and his eyes fell onto Mystique.

He swallowed hard. "I've also realized how much she means to me." He muttered softly. "She's always been there and gone above and beyond what was asked of her to be my most loyal follower...my only true friend. She means more to me than I ever stopped to consider. And I almost lost her as well. I haven't cared this much for a woman since...since my Magda." His voice cracked slightly. "And I lost her years ago. Wanda and Pietro were only four...just babies really. Sometimes I wonder if they even remember her...and lately I've found myself wondering if...they'd ever accept another woman in our lives. And if they could...if they could accept her..."

Sensing his despair, Saturn Girl looked at Magneto. "Let me worry about your kids and Mystique, Magneto. You need to get some rest yourself. Tomorrow is going to be a big day for all of us."

Magneto looked at the young legionnaire. For a moment he looked as though he wanted to argue, but then he set his jaw and nodded somberly. "Please take care of them and yourself, Saturn Girl." With that as his farewell the master of magnetism turned and left the infirmary.

Saturn Girl gave her attention to the readouts on Wanda's charts and as she was lost in thought she did not realize someone was behind her.

"Excuse me, Saturn Girl. Can you tell me what time it is?"

Saturn Girl whirled around, slightly startled. Standing before her was a blue skinned woman in a hospital style gown. "Mystique, you startled me. What are you doing out of bed. Have you been there long?"

Mystique chuckled. "My shape shifting gifts come bundled with a healing factor. I never bothered with the science of it, but I always return to my original form. Injuries don't affect DNA I guess." She shrugged. "Anyway...No, I was not there long. I came up after seeing Eric leave." She smiled mysteriously before looking over at The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, she asked "Are they going to be all right?"

Saturn Girl looked at the twins and shrugged her shoulders. "I believe they will be okay. The Scarlet Witch appears to be having a restless night but at least she is not in a coma any more. She may have had a stroke, courtesy of Apocalypse. Quicksilver was very seriously injured but his wounds do not appear to be life threatening now. He is already showing signs of recovery. We will see what the morning brings for both of them."

Mystique frowned. "_I wonder if her mental blocks were damaged," _she thought.

Saturn Girl looked at Mystique. "What mental blocks, Mystique?" She asked.

"Oops," Mystique sighed. She knew she had made a mistake. She had forgotten that Saturn Girl was a telepath and could hear other peoples' thoughts. "Well, Wanda was...a difficult little girl as she was growing up, and Eric was never a terribly patient man..." She sighed. "When her powers manifested he couldn't handle it...for a number of reasons. She went from being a head strong, petulant little girl to an utter monster with the power to do literally anything. He put her into a mental institution, hoping she would learn to control her emotions and newfound abilities. Unfortunately, the institution's doctors were the real monsters. They abused her both physically and mentally, left her in isolation, and put that child through Hell. I was the one who rescued her from that torture chamber. I don't think Eric had any idea what was really going on there...I'm fairly certain he managed to convince himself it was really what was best for her. But I'll never forget how hurt and angry she was...how full of hatred...She was very angry at her father. In order to calm her down, he had Mastermind, another mutant, use his powers to alter her memories and place strong mental blocks in her mind so she would not remember how traumatic her childhood had been."

As Mystique finished her story, Saturn Girl realized that The Scarlet Witch probably was reliving some very painful memories from her childhood. It was quite likely that the stroke caused by Apocalypse had seriously damaged those mental blocks. They were also likely further eroded when Betsy had used her healing ability on Wanda. "_We will probably have one angry young woman on our hands in the morning," _Saturn Girl thought. "_I will deal with that then." _"It is getting late, Mystique. You need to get some rest, too. If you are recovered from your wounds, you may return to your quarters. Tomorrow is going to be a big day for all of us."

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Meanwhile, back at the villains' base, Apocalypse surveyed the damage inflicted during the battle. Two of his ships had been wrecked beyond repair. His main control panel had been badly damaged as well. As he looked around, he saw The Time Trapper extricating himself from a pile of debris. Mordru was nowhere to be seen. He saw Mr. Sinister working on repairing some of the instruments which had been damaged during the battle. He also noticed that none of his horsemen were present except for Sinister. Also among the missing were Universo and Crystal. "_They have all been captured," _he thought. "_This is not going well. I should start planning my escape now."_

Suddenly, there was an angry roar behind him. "Mutant scum!! You are the worst! You promised us an army and assured us that your horsemen were unbeatable. Your horsemen are all gone. Only your scientist friend remains. I have yet to see any scientist worth an even an abra cadabra in battle!" Mordru yelled angrily.

Apocalypse just shrugged. "Say what you wish Mordru. I don't see you doing any better. In fact, had I not intervened and defeated that young woman you were battling, along with the red haired boy, for you, it is likely that you would have been defeated and captured as well," he said coldly. "Oh, by the way, just in case you ever meet her again, her power is called chaos magic. She is actually a chaos lady of very high rank in the magic world."

Just then, the Time Trapper finally removed the last of the debris that was trapping him. "ENOUGH FIGHTING, YOU TWO!!" he yelled. "We need to plan our next move. Our ranks have dwindled but we are the four most powerful of our group. We have not yet been defeated. I think it is time to take the attack to the Legion instead of waiting for them to recover and come back for us."

Sinister then joined the group. "The Time Trapper is right. We should attack them now, while they are still tending their wounds," he said. "We inflicted serious damage and many injuries to them. Don't wait for them to recover and come back at full strength."

"While I would agree with you," Apocalypse, began. "It appears that Mordru needs to recharge his magic. He had quite a taxing battle with several magical foes today. Also, look around you. Our ships have been wrecked Much of the equipment and controls have also been destroyed. We are many miles away from the Legion's headquarters. It would take several hours to get there and we would be exhausted before we began. We should concentrate on preparing for their return. They are likely to come in smaller numbers because of their large number of injuries. I believe that many of their most powerful members are currently injured, including their magical powered ones. While we are outnumbered, perhaps we can set up traps for our "guests." These traps should be designed to exploit their weaknesses."

"Apocalypse, you will have to enlighten us as to the weaknesses of the X-Men as Mordru and I are not as familiar with them as you are. Most of the legionnaires we know and will enlighten you." The Time Trapper said. "For example, the Kryptonians, Super Boy and Super Girl are vulnerable to green fragments of their homeworld. Mon-El appears to be like them but his weakness is lead, not Kryptonite."

The villains continued their discussion far into the evening. Finally, Sinister looked at the group. "I can repair the plasma blasters and modify them to take advantage of the unique weaknesses of our enemies. It will take some time but I am quite certain that by doing so we will be able to prevail. In the meantime, I suggest we all get some rest and prepare for the final battle."

"By the way," Mordru asked. "Would someone please tell me why we are battling so hard over this empty rock. What happened to all of the people. It is no fun conquering a world with nobody to terrify and rule. Perhaps a strategic withdrawal to another less defended planet would be a wise move for us. Then we could obtain our army to defeat the accursed Legionnaires and those MUTANT TERRORISTS, the X-Men. Clearly we know their greatest weakness is that they all care about the humans they seek to protect. An army of human slaves would bring that weakness into play."

"Additionally, the Legion is forbidden by Legion Law to kill anyone," added the Time Trapper. "This, too, can work to our advantage if we had our promised army, Apocalypse."

Apocalypse looked at his allies. "You are right. It would be to our advantage to do that. However, the only ship I have that can travel through space is my own. It is too small for the four of us unless I put you three into my recuperation chamber and seal you inside. You will be quite crowded and uncomfortable. While we may be able to escape detection as we leave, you know the Legionnaires will follow us. We probably will not have time to raise this army before we get involved with the Legionnaires again."

"What about your transformation web, Apocalypse,?" Asked Sinister. Can't we use that to get the army you need?"

"My dear friend, that requires a large amount of power. Usually, I can power it with my three ships until I can secure the resources of an entire planet to power the grid. Unfortunately, two of my ships have been destroyed and many instruments are not repairable. There would not be time to get it operational before we fight our next battle with the Legion. An interesting question is what became of the entire population of Earth? There is no way that the Legionnaires killed off the entire population to prevent us from getting them. Therefore, they have hidden them somewhere. If we find them, we will have our army. It must be some kind of illusion that they are not here."

"Not like it matters anyway, mutant!" Mordru roared, angrily. "You promised us an army of human slaves. A promise you failed to deliver on by the way. And as you said yourself, your precious equipment has been destroyed. So even if all of humanity were here, there is nothing you could do about it. You are a pathetic excuse for a would-be conqueror of the universe."

Apocalypse smiled while the mad sorcerer fumed. "You know, Mordru, you are right. I am a pathetic excuse for a would-be conqueror. But at least I know that I will ultimately succeed in destroying my foes as I will far outlive them. You have never completely defeated your foes and are not likely to live forever. You are mortal, wizard. I am not. I have lived over 6000 years and am not slowing down. Can you say the same? You needed help to defeat a pair of teenage kids. And another teenager had battled you to a stalemate. Some all powerful wizard you are."

While the two super villains argued back and forth, the Time Trapper watched Sinister. The mutant scientist had moved away from the argumentative pair and was taking apart a plasma blaster. Mr. Sinister was so absorbed in his efforts to modify the blaster that he did not notice the Time Trapper standing in the room.

"Well, what do you think, Mr. Sinister. Can the blasters be modified to destroy our enemies?" The Time Trapper asked.

Mr. Sinister looked up. "I believe that I can do this given the proper time. However, I will need samples of the substances that will weaken or kill our enemies. Can you provide them for me?"

"As a matter of fact, I do have some Kryptonite with me. And Lead is very common element, easy to find almost anywhere. I fully expected to battle both Super Girl and Super Boy as well as Mon-El in this fight. I only hope it is enough," the Time Trapper said, as he pulled out a small lead-lined box. Here are both of the elements you will need."

As Mr. Sinister reached out to take the box, he had to set the blaster down. When he had done so, The Time Trapper grabbed his hand. The two villains immediately vanished from the ship.

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The next morning dawned bright. Saturn Girl had maintained her vigil on the injured Legionnaires and X-Men throughout the night. Finally about dawn, she felt she could no longer keep her eyes open. As she settled in a chair next to her husband's cot, she was suddenly aware of another presence in the room.

"Saturn Girl, you need to get some rest. I'm awake and recharged now, so if you don't mind, I'll take over for you."

Saturn Girl looked up to find Betsy Danvers standing over her. "Thank you, Betsy. You are right, I am exhausted. I am glad to see you up again and will gladly let you take over."

Betsy smiled as she reached down and touched Lightning Lad's arm. As she felt her healing power flow into him, she immediately moved on to the other injured Legionnaires. One by one, she touched them all. Immediately after she touched him, healing his plasma induced injuries, Sun Boy started irradiating the infirmary with yellow sun radiation. The results were instantaneous. Super Girl, Ms. Marvel, and Rogue all started stirring from their cots. Soon, Quicksilver's rapid metabolism had mended nearly all of the remainder of his injuries.

A few moments later, all of the remaining Legionnaires and X-men had been healed. One by one they all headed to the main meeting room. The last to awaken was a very sullen Wanda. The Scarlet Witch had not slept very well. She had been forced to relive some very painful memories during the night. Suddenly, she saw her father enter the room. Her eyes flashed angrily. "You!!!!!" she snarled and lunged blindly. Jean caught her and restrained the furious girl telekinetically.

"Now isn't the time, Wanda." She said gently, though firmly.

"Do you know what he did to me?! What he put me through?" Wanda struggled to free herself as hot angry tears coursed down her face. "I went through Hell and back because of him! Damnit Jean let me go!"

"I know you and your father have a lot of issues to work out, but we are in the middle of a war, Wanda. We can't be fighting among our own side."

"I don't care!" Wanda snapped. "Let me go! He deserves it for what he did to me!"

"Wanda, you need to calm down." Jean sighed. Wanda continued to struggle against the older mutant's hold.

"I was only nine!" Wanda raged at her father, completely ignoring Jean. "Nine years old, you monster! And you put me there! I hate you! Go to Hell! I hate you I hate you I hate you!" She shrieked and started sobbing.

Jean lay a hand on Wanda's shoulder. "Wanda...you don't mean that..."

"I think she does." Magneto said softly. "And I think she has every right to hate me for what I've done." He approached his daughter who stared up at him with livid blue eyes. "I won't deny that what I allowed to happen was monstrous, daughter. And trying to hide it from you did nothing to help matters. I only hope someday you'll forgive me, Wanda. Though...I know I've done nothing to deserve another chance...but I'd love to have a clean start with you and your brother if you'll grant it to me."

Wanda's eyes narrowed to slits and she turned her face insolently. He sighed. "I know it doesn't mean much, but I am sorry." He said gently. "But right now we can't worry about the matters between us. We need to make the world safe and defeat our foes."

"Your father's right, Wanda." Jean spoke up. "Once this is over we can all sort out our own problems. But right now, the world and the future need us to be strong."  
Wanda turned her eyes down and she remained silent, though her slim shoulders shook slightly and tears continued to spill from her eyes.

Before anyone said anything to her the smell of maple cured ham, bacon and sausage combined with cinnamon French toast filled the room. Apparently, someone was in the kitchen cooking breakfast. One by one, all of the legionnaires and X-Men moved into the kitchen area where they found Pete and Lana cooking breakfast.

"I hope everyone is hungry," quipped Pete Ross. "We made enough food here to feed all of Smallville."

Eagerly, all of the X-Men and Legionnaires formed a line and began serving themselves breakfast. "What about our prisoners, downstairs, Mon-El?" asked Lana. "We should give them some food, too."

"You are right, Lana, Mon-El replied. "We should not neglect our guests. Be sure to set aside a plate for each of them. Perhaps they will be more inclined to cooperate once they are well fed."

Saturn Girl, Jean Gray, and Rogue finished eating. "If you don't mind, Mon-El, we would like to take our guests their food and request permission to interrogate them." Saturn Girl said. "Hopefully, that should not take long and then we can begin making preparations to finish this war."

"Permission granted, Saturn Girl," Mon-El replied. "Take Super Girl and Cyclops with you. That way, we will also have our leadership from both teams represented. Be sure to document any information you receive and preserve any evidence for use at their trials later."

The five heroes gathered up the plates for the villains and made their way to the detention levels. The first one they encountered was Lalo Muldoon. "How are you doing, Micro Lad?" Saturn Girl asked.

Micro Lad smiled. "I am doing well, though I could use something to eat."

Super Girl then handed him his plate through the opening in the bars. "Enjoy your breakfast, Micro Lad."

The next villain to be served was Mesmero. The telepath took the proffered plate and silently moved to the other side of his cell. Jean Grey looked at him. "_**What is Apocalypse planning, Mesmero?"**_ She projected into his mind.

Mesmero scowled. "_**You won't get any information from me, X-Man. I am no traitor and when Apocalypse gets me out of here, you will regret interfering with his plans." **_

_**"As you wish, Mesmero. We can always get what we want from you the hard way if you prefer. We can extract the information right from your mind."**_

"Rogue, are you ready?"

At this point, Saturn Girl intervened. Using the telepathic channel in the legion flight ring, she projected a thought to Jean Grey. "_**Let's not resort to that yet, Jean. Let him think about it a bit. We will return to him after finishing with the others. Perhaps we will be able to persuade him to cooperate after he sees what the others tell us."**_

Rogue smiled. "Ah'm ready," she replied, taking off her gloves.

The group moved on. Magnum and Bella Donna took their food, silently. As Bella Donna began to eat, she detected a hint of Cajun spice in the food. "Did mah ex-fiancee prepare this stuff. It ain't poisoned or drugged, is it?"

Super Girl looked at the Louisiana assassin. "No," she answered. "The Legion does not use poisons or drugs on its prisoners. Is there something you would like to tell us? Such as why you decided to hook up with Apocalypse in the first place? You know that you were not his first choices for horsemen. You were selected as replacements after his first horsemen were easily defeated by us."

Magnum glowered at Super Girl. "Even assassins have honor. We will not tell you anything."

Rogue looked at the assassin. "You have already told us enough, Magnum. Ah only wish that you would tell me why you, a non-mutant, would evah considah joining with someone like Apocalypse. He is completely without honor."

"You are right. I see now that he is without honor. I was swayed by the promise of power. And by a chance to get revenge. I should know better than that. I always taught my pupils that revenge is a dish best served cold. I am not a mutant even though he was not sure of that fact because I apparently have the precise combination of genes for the perfect soldier. And that is what I am. The perfect soldier. I have a soldier's honor. Beyond that I can tell you no more. My name is Magnum. My rank is Assassin Extraordinaire. And my serial number is none of your business."

Saturn Girl looked at Rogue. "_**Way to go, Rogue,"**_ she projected through the Legion flight ring.

Rogue beamed at the compliment from Saturn Girl. As she turned towards Bella Donna, her smile turned into a frown. "Yah're a differ'nt story. Ah already know yer a low level mutant. Yahr motivation was solely revenge on mah boyfriend. Well, when this is ovah, y'all will get your chance to explain yo self both to meh and Remy as well as a judge. And Ah know all about ya lies

and th' way ya set up Remy thinkin ya brother was going ta kill him fo' ya. You, sugah, are a pathetic excuse fo the leadah of the 'sassins guild. And a no good cheat as well."

Bella Donna scowled at Rogue. "mebbe ya don't know as much as ya think, ya trashy li'l river rat!"

Rogue looked at her with disdain. "At least ya teacher has honor. More n can be said about ya, swamp witch."

Rogue then moved on towards Crystal and Phoenix 5 to serve them breakfast. Phoenix looked at Saturn Girl. "I would like to talk. Away from all of these low lifes. I know that at least 2 of these are telepaths like yourself and me. Will I be able to get a private audience with you?"

"That may be possible, Phoenix, but not right now. Here is your breakfast. Do you have anything else to say in front of your comrades?" Saturn Girl replied.

Phoenix 5 took the proffered tray and walked away. As she moved to the far side of her cell, she thought "_**I have plenty to say but not aloud in front of them. If possible I would like to join your group in defeating Apocalypse. That is all for now." **_"No!" she said aloud sullenly.

Crystal came up to the bars of her cell. "I am a princess of the Inhumans. I demand to be released immediately."

Rogue looked at Crystal. "Yea, Ya are a princess and like many people of royal blood, yar also a royal pain."

Saturn Girl and Super Girl looked at her. "We are sorry, your highness, but you will remain a prisoner. Royalty or not, you will get your day in court. And you may not like the way royal criminals are treated in the 31st century. We will leave that decision up to the courts," Super girl replied. "Here is your breakfast."

As she took the breakfast, Crystal looked at her jailers. As she moved across her cell and began to eat, she said, "Well, can't blame me for trying . What I would really like to know is where is my husband. I know he was captured by you guys but I have not seen him here."

The five heroes looked at each other with blank looks. "We have not seen him. Who is he?" asked Jean Grey.

Crystal looked at them. "His real name is Sebastian Morrison Summers. He is called Cyclops. His power is to use energy to create powerful concussion blasts from his eyes."

When she had finished, there were two audible gasps from Cyclops and Jean Grey. When they had recovered their composure, Jean Grey replied, "We have not seen him but he will probably turn up soon."

Finally, the group reached Universo's cell. As he took his tray of food, he said: "I want to talk. The Time Trapper has gone mad. It was his idea to bring Apocalypse and Mordru together to destroy the Legion. If he is to be successful, the entire universe in all timelines and dimensions are in peril. Your two teams are the only thing standing in their way. Once the conquest is assured, he plans to pit Mordru and Apocalypse against each other in hopes they will destroy one another so he can rule alone."

"Interesting," said Super Girl. "Tell us, Universo, why we should choose to believe you."

Without batting an eye, Universo responded. "Who do you think provided your group with the information about Apocalypse and his horsemen in the first place? It was I. I sent the message to my son, Rond Vidar, with the hope that he would inform you. I know that he did just that because you were ready for us when the battle started."

As the others looked on, Super Girl continued the questioning. "Why would you betray the Time Trapper this way? Haven't you been working with him for a long time?"

"Because," Universo answered. "I could see the writing on the wall. If the Time Trapper and the others are successful, I become expendable. I believe that it was planned that I would become the first casualty. And I am a survivor. It is better for me to serve out a long sentence in some intergalactic prison rather than to be destroyed. The fact that one of Apocalypse's horsemen actually claimed the first victim, an innocent child, who would have made a great slave in our army by the way, only made the issue clearer for me."

"What army are you talking about?" Super Girl asked.

"Apocalypse had promised our group an enormous army comprised of human slaves who would have been forced to become mutants or be destroyed. Apocalypse could care less whether the transformation was successful or not. He only seeks power. The Time Trapper knows that Apocalypse is powerful enough, if unchecked, to conquer the universe himself. That is why he needed Mordru. Neither of those two like each other and would be likely to destroy one another in an all out battle, leaving the Time Trapper to take over the universe."

"What else is there, Universo?" Saturn Girl demanded. "You are hiding something."

Universo sighed. "In the event that this battle ends in disaster, which it appears to be heading towards, the Time Trapper will probably resort to his most dangerous plan. He has often talked about the creation of pocket universes within the main universe. Creation of a pocket universe requires large amounts of energy, which he can create himself. He is likely to try to trap the entire Legion into one of these pocket universes. Once trapped in one of these pocket universes, he will be able to either neutralize or destroy all of you. The biggest problem is that if he destroys the pocket universe, the energy is released as anti-matter. If anti-matter comes into contact with matter, both are destroyed. If he is successful, the entire universe will be destroyed as a result. As you can see, he must be stopped. He may already have escaped to his hideaway at the end of time to prepare this surprise for you. Also, Mordru has decided that he will not be captured. He will fight to the death, his or all of yours. And Apocalypse can manipulate himself through time. He will not be prone to capture either. You are dealing with desperate men here. Also, this Mr. Sinister, who is now working with Apocalypse, is a scientific genius. He is especially interested in genetics and DNA. He is capable of creating super clones and also modifying machinery to engage in battle against you all. He is the one responsible for modifying the plasma blasters that were so effective against you all in the most recent battle, yesterday."

"These guys are really bad news!" exclaimed Jean Gray.

"You're right, Jean," Cyclops replied. "It is up to all of us to insure that they all end up facing justice. We can't let any of them escape. The safety of the universe and all timelines depend on it."

As they turned to leave the detention area, they stopped before Mesmero's cell. "Do you have anything you wish to say Mesmero?" asked Rogue. "Now that you know that the villains you have allied yourself with are so willing to sacrifice all of you in their mad quest for universal dominance or destruction, what do you have to say about that?"

Mesmero glared angrily at the Legionnaires and X-Men. "You can't make me talk, X-Man. Unlike that fool, Universo," he spat, "I am not a cowardly traitor. We will be victorious. It is guaranteed."

Magnum came over to the edge of her cell nearest the legionnaires. "Apparently, we have all been made into fools. I agreed to join Apocalypse in this mad quest for the wrong reasons. However, I, for one, will not stand idly by while the entire universe is destroyed by mad men."

At that moment, Crystal and Phoenix 5 moved over to the part of their cells nearest to the legionnaires. "Whatever we can do to help you all stop this madness, please allow us to do so," they both said.

Magnum looked at her protege. "Well, Bella, what are you going to do? Do you wish to continue in your silly quest for revenge or do you want to restore your honor?"

Bella Donna looked glumly at the floor. "Revenge can wait," she said. "These maniacs must be stopped. I'll settle my score wit' Remy Lebeau later."

"You have chosen well, my student. The road to honor is a tough one to follow," Magnum replied. "It appears that our fates will be in your hands, legionnaires."

Super Girl and the rest of the legionnaires looked surprised at the sudden turn of events. Surprised and pleased. "We will let you know. You all do realize that each of you will still have to face justice for your crimes, regardless of what happens from here on out."

Each of the prisoners, except Mesmero nodded. The mutant telepath looked at his fellow prisoners. "Fools!" he exclaimed. "Apocalypse will destroy all of you. You all are pathetic cowards. I do not see why any of you were deemed worthy to be horsemen and joined in the goal of mutant domination."

Suddenly, Universo started laughing uncontrollably. "You are the fool, Mesmero. You willingly joined Apocalypse a long time ago. Even now, you do not get it. Apocalypse does not care about you one iota. He only cares about power and universal dominance. Just like my former master, The Time Trapper and the Evil Sorcerer, Mordru, they don't care either. Can't you see what is going on. All of us were expendable to them. We were pawns in their games. But not any more for the rest of us. You will stand alone in your blind loyalty to Apocalypse," he said, continuing to laugh as he shook his head.

As the legionnaires started to exit the detention wing, the final prisoner, Micro Lad spoke up. "Legionnaires, If you will have me join you, I would like to do so." Looking at Magnum and Bella Donna, he continued. "I, too, would like the opportunity to return to the road of honor."

The legionnaires looked at each other as they left the detention wing. "Guess this battle is taking a surprising turn," Rogue said to Super Girl.

When the group rejoined the rest of the Legionnaires and X-Men, they found everyone in the main meeting room. Quickly, Super Girl informed the others what had transpired in the detention area.

Mon-El was surprised at the turn of events. Looking at Saturn Girl, he asked: "Do you think we can trust any of them, Saturn Girl? Or is this a ploy to get their freedom?"

Saturn Girl and Super Girl looked at their leader. "I did not get any sense that any of them were lying, Mon-El." Super Girl replied. "None of them had any changes in their breathing, heart rates, or blood pressure."

Saturn Girl replied to Mon-El. "I did not detect any insincerity on their parts even though I was reading their thoughts for just that purpose."

"Nor did I, Mon-El," said Jean Grey. "One thing I did notice was the assassin, Magnum. She was troubled by a sense of self-dishonor. When she told us that she wanted to help, it was like a great relief in her mind. She also realizes that there are no guarantees in her case. I think she was being sincere. Universo has already admitted that he betrayed the Time Trapper. Phoenix 5 and Crystal are so disgusted by Apocalypse that they will do anything to be rid of him, Crystal wants to find her husband as well. Does any body know what happened to him?"

Bobby stepped forward with a sheepish look on his face. "I just remembered something. When the battle began, I met up with Cyclops II at the science police building. With the help of Wild Fire and Polar Boy. we were able to defeat him, rendering him unconscious in the process. I then encased him in a block of ice to keep him out of trouble. The city was placed in the phantom zone soon after. I would bet he is in the zone still encased in ice, if ice remains solid in the zone."

"It would," Super Boy responded. "Anything placed in the zone remains in the state it was in when placed there. Ice would not be melted there. On the other hand, the people trapped in the zone do not age or die at all. Cyclops II is quite safe there."

Super Girl then went over to the phantom zone viewer. Setting the controls for Metropolis, she started viewing the area around the science police building. A few moments later, she spotted a block of ice about 6 feet long. Zooming in on the block, she noticed a humanoid form encased in the ice. "There he is. We should probably bring him from the zone and thaw him out. We can put him in a power nullifier and question him."

"Perhaps that is a wise choice, perhaps not. Right now he is perfectly safe. Bringing him back may be dangerous." Mon-El replied.

"He is unconscious in a block of ice. Removing him from the zone is not going to change that fact, Mon-El. He will not regain consciousness until thawed out. You and I should be able to handle him if he wakes up before putting the power nullifier on him," Super Girl replied. "Besides, it would be the honorable thing to do."

After a few seconds of thinking about the issue, Mon-el decided that Super Girl was right. "Okay, bring him back but bring him directly to a detention cell. And I hope there are no problems with this."

As Super Girl readied the controls to bring back Cyclops II from the phantom zone, Mon-El turned his attention to the rest of the legionnaires. "I am open to suggestions on how to end this battle," he said, his arms outstretched.

For a time, everyone was silent. Then Scott Summers stepped forward. "They believe us to be shorthanded right now. I don't believe they know about our healer. The time may be right to let them think they are about to win. Do we have access to any kind of cloaking technology?"

Brainiac 5 and Forge looked at Cyclops. Forge was the first to speak. "I have a cloaking device available, Scott. It is a portable version of what I am using to protect my home while I am here in the 31st century." As he finished, he pulled the device from his bag and handed it to Mon-El.

Brainiac 5 also responded. "We do have cloaking technology embedded in the Legion flight rings. I just completed the program for its use and now would be a good time to activate it. I must admit however that it has never been tested. The program should allow us to be cloaked either collectively as a whole or individually. It will take but a few moments to activate the program in all of our rings."

"Then make it so, Brainy," Mon-El ordered. "What is your plan of action, Cyclops?"

"Are you familiar with the legend of how the Greeks won the Trojan War?" Cyclops asked with a grin. "I propose that we use a 31st century rendition of the Trojan horse. We will send a small group of our teams to confront our foes. I suggest Rogue, Jean Gray, Shadow Kat, and Myself from the X-Men. And Super Girl, Mon-El, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad from the Legion. The rest of us will remain cloaked until the time is right to rout the bad guys. They will have a false sense of confidence because so few of us dared to show up to face them. Once we have them engaged, the rest of you attack. Avalanche and Element Lad should be able to entomb Apocalypse and Mordru with the element of surprise in our favor. Once those two are taken care of, we can take on the Time Trapper and Sinister."

"That sounds like an excellent plan, Cyclops," replied Mon-El. "Why don't we utilize our new allies downstairs as part of the initial group as well. Their presence would certainly be distracting to our enemies."

A few moments later, everyone had agreed to the plan. It was decided that each of the prisoners would be given stun guns in order for them to be able to defend themselves against their former masters. Their power nullifiers would be cloaked so as to make them appear to no longer have them. They would not be released from them yet. It was decided that Brainiac 5 would be cloaked but with the main group. He would use his force field belt to try to protect the main group from injury.

After the rings had been activated, everyone returned to their quarters to prepare for the upcoming battle. Everyone, that is , except Super Girl. She remained in the Legion's monitor room and finally returned Cyclops II from the phantom zone. As he returned from the zone, Super Girl transported him into a waiting detention cell. Immediately, she and Mon-El went down to the detention wing to examine their new prisoner. As Super Girl used her heat vision to start thawing his imprisoning block of ice, Mon-El stood by with a power nullifier. Slowly, Super Girl thawed out the area around Cyclops II's head. As his neck became visible, Mon-El quickly snapped the power nullifier on him and activated it. Then Mon-El joined Super Girl in thawing out the rest of Cyclops II. As the villain regained consciousness, he realized that he was a prisoner of the Legion. A few seconds later, he noticed his wife and sister in cells not far away. With a sigh, he sat down to ponder his fate.

"Cyclops, we would like to talk to you," Super Girl began. "How do you feel about Apocalypse?"

Cyclops II looked at his captors. "I hate him. He captured my wife and sister to use as slaves. His plan was to force them to become his horsemen. I joined him because he threatened to kill them. Apocalypse also threatened to kill Crystal's young daughter, my step-daughter, Luna. I wanted to protect my family. So I joined him, hoping that we would be able to escape from him at some point in the future. I really do not want to be part of this insane scheme."

"Both your wife and sister are here. They have decided that they want to join us in this battle. You are going to be given the same opportunity. Be forewarned. The situation is going to be extremely dangerous. The power nullifiers you and the rest are wearing are imbedded with explosive charges, so do not try to escape," Mon-El told him.

Super Girl then asked: "What do you know about this scheme of the Time Trapper?"

"Is that the guy who brought us to the far future and got us in this messed up battle?" Cyclops asked. "All I know is that he brought us to the future and told us about you all in the briefest terms. One thing he forgot to mention was how powerful you all were. We were told that we should be able to make short work of the Legion. He did not count on the X-Men being here or your level of preparedness."

"Do you know what time period you were in?" Super Girl asked.

"Not really. He did say 'Welcome to the end of all time' when he brought us to him. Is that helpful?" Cyclops asked.

"It may well prove to be, Cyclops," replied Mon-El. "Hopefully, we will not have to take this battle to that extreme."

"You mentioned that my wife and sister had already agreed to join you against Apocalypse? Precisely what does that mean?"

At this moment, Crystal called out to her husband. "It means that we want to do anything in our power to stop this power obsessed group from destroying the universe, you lunkhead."

Super Girl looked thoughtfully at Cyclops II. "Your wife, your sister, and everyone else except Mesmero have agreed to join our cause," she replied. "What that entails is still being worked out. I will tell you that no promises or deals have been made to any of your group. It could mean any or all of you being put on the front lines again. This will be extremely dangerous to you as you will be considered traitors by the villains. You all are also considered to be expendable in their eyes. Are you okay with that, Cyclops?" She asked.

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_**The plot thickens. Are there any readers still left out there? Hopefully we have not lost everyone. Please let us know what you think. Use the review button at the bottom of the page. Feel free to berate heartsyhawk for taking so long with her part of this.**_


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